Friday December 5th 2025

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2025

Good morning!

Joe, hope you have a good day. That is really cold.

We're supposed to be sunny in the low 70's today. I have to meal prep for working the weekend and other than Waffle's appointment not much else. It is "wash the sheets" day so that is being done now.

I gasped when I checked my checking account yesterday, as I often do in these days of identity theft , because there was a significant drop in balance. I then noticed I paid my credit card way too much adding an extra zero. Not sure what to do. I may just leave it and use the card more often for groceries and Amazon. I also am sure to have some more significant vet bills on the horizon, as well as some maintenance on my air condition scheduled for January that will be costly. Silly me. Thankfully I did have the money in my checking account as that's were some of my emergency fund is as it pays more interest than my savings account there.

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Dec 5, 2025

I thought I had posted yesterday, but see that I did not. The afternoon caregiver was here, and I actually did go up to my room and start cleaning up and rearranging my bedside.....Hard to explain, but it looks better now, and at least that side or third of the room is neat and clean. Today I was going to do the other part of the room that is still messy, but because of the POSSIBILITY of rain and/or snow. the Senior Center was closed. So instead I am thrilled to be spending my usual afternoon sitting in the den with Nannie. Bleh.

Today I have had to explain several times how the two front parts of the sweater are permanently attached to the back side, and by her pulling one side, trying to dislodge it because she thinks it is stuck in back of her......yah, well, that's how a cardigan is made, duh! I finally had to give it up and say if she tears the seams, she tears the seams. Then she started pushing the sleeves of her jersey way up under the sleeve of the sweater. Who knows why? But when she couldn't retrieve it, I went over and fished up inside her sweater sleeves to pull the jersey sleeve back down. She said, "Oh. Okay..." and began pushing the jersey sleeve back up over her elbow and left it there,

THEN she started to get up from her chair and I made her wait a minute so I could put the footrest down. I asked her where she was going, and she said "Well, uhhhhm....." I asked if she was going to the bathroom and she said yes. So once she was seated on the commode I asked if she needed to pee or poop. She said she didn't know. So we waited, and waited. I said, "I thought you had to use the toilet?" and she said no, she didn't think so. (huh!) So, I stood her up, pulled her britches back up and walked her back to her chair. Then, I guess because Tinker follows me around or sometimes goes and looks out the glass door, Nannie keeps thinking that the dog has to go out. She brought this up more than a few times and it didn't matter that I said I'd already taken her out twice and she didn't "have to go" at this time. I got a sour face from Nannie. So now, between her sweater sleeves and my response about the dog 'question', she is p.o'd at me. 🙄😳

If I had any tablets of Tylenol I'd crush them and put 'em in pudding, and she would eventually fall asleep. But, better to do that after supper instead of before; I don't think there are any Tylenol tablets in the house....only capsules. I may go ahead at supper and make her just chew the capsules, because they are 'rapid release', and chewing would do it faster than stomach acids. I mean, she chews the pieces of crushed Tylenol and doesn't spit it out. Of course, it is surrounded by chocolate pudding then, but I HAVE TO see if it is possible to crush those capsules to the degree where I can mix it with pudding.

Oh, and about my suggestion to the iL's about me having a vacation, they agreed, but don't want to take her the their house because "she would get confused". So I said, okay, but I have no money and no place to go, so if I can stay up in my room and NOT do any of the Nannie-care at all; .....But I'm not sure they understand that the care needed would be 24 hours per 'day', because me not having a REAL vacation, it does not mean I'd be available to put her to bed in the evening. WELL, I guess it will get straightened out sooner or later. Monday is my cataract surgery and they needn't think I'll be putting Nannie to bed that night, OR getting her up in the morning. Maybe it will clarify the need for them to provide the Nannie-care when I am not available. And if my vacation is up in my room, it should be like I am NOT IN THE BUILDING. (Like Elvis, y'know; he has left the building)

Nannie is pouting, Tinker is rolled up beside my hip and sleeping. I guess I'll stop here so talking about the Nannie-Situation because it makes me just as irritated as doing it.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 5, 2025

Waffle's visit today was $243.00. She got the UV Light treatment which is supposed to promote healing. Her infection they said is getting better, so continue with the antibiotic and other drops. Unfortunately they said he left eye has some abrasions and her glaucoma is worse. More drops for that eye as well. Ugh... The doc was insistent the soft cone I was using was too short and I was to go back to the hard one. She hates and it's disorienting to her makes her restless. But it is what it is. I'll give her a pain pill later and hopefully she'll rest with the collar on through the night.

I prepped some lunches and dinners and made it to the gym. I'm going to slow add back some foods I took out during the Low FODMAP phase. Really the diet change didn't work for me anyway and I can't identify any triggers. Lunch included two slices of Ezekiel bread and dinner included 1/3 cup of beans. Both of which I've cut out. Wish me luck.

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 6, 2025

Hello all!

No Stars, what is iL's "plan" for taking care of Nannie (not YOU!) after your upcoming surgery? Is Tinker still wearing her little jacket? It entertains me to imagine her strutting around (or curling up), cozy and warm, and loving it! Congrats on getting that area tidy.

Joe, I agree, stay inside with those cold temperatures outside.

Tweety, hmmmm, that's too bad the doggie opthalmologist didn't think the shorter cone was effective enough for Waffles to wear. I wonder what his reasoning is, in this particular case? Glad to hear she is healing, in any case. I forget, do you carry doggie insurance?

I slept from 7a-11a (just couldn't fall asleep, brain in gear yanno!). After lunch I went to the grocery store for a few things I missed the other day when I went (ongoing saga, eh?). Came home with more than I intended, but only because I wanted to make a fettuccine alfredo -- which I did, only with the low-carb rotini noodles. I added chopped bella mushrooms and tiny green beans to it, too. I happened to find a block of parmesan (paramecium 😉) cheese, and I grated that into the sauce. Topped it with chopped fresh parsley. We'll have that tonight and probably for one other meal. Dh tried it and declared it was good enough to eat!

We'll go to a Christmas party with the bluegrass association tomorrow afternoon (I will bring the cranberry-orange bread), then on Sunday we have band practice. Next weekend, both days, we will do our official Christmas programs. After that, band practice will decrease until we have another program to prepare for.

Have a good evening!

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Dec 6, 2025

dianah, you triggered my brain with the word "Paramecium"....I thought of the guy who makes up funny words to old songs... Allen Sherman who wrote "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah, Here I am at Camp Granada__") One of his songs said "I've got things in my para-necium that belong in a British Museum". But maybe he sang "per-ito-neum" ?

Well, that was enlightening!

It is cloudy and feels a lot colder than they are saying it is (41 degrees). No rain, no snow. just BBBRRRRRRR! Tinker was too impatient to get outside and wouldn't sit still long enough for me to get her parka on her. If it was really any colder, I would've INSISTED she wear it. But, she did fine, no shivering. She was, as always, hoping to see some movement from ANY kind of animal, so she barked at some of her favorite spots ..... but nothing was flushed from a hidey-hole. We did the full yard periphery, and without me saying that we were going to go back in the house, she headed to the back door. Now sleeping on the sofa with a baby blanket resting on the lower half of her. Once in the house where the electric fireplace is warming us up, she prefers NOT to wear anything extra; after five or ten minutes with the blanket completely over her, she stretches out so it then only covers her hips and rear legs, because she gets too warm!

Well, RATZ, Nannie is not napping. Oh well. Now she is mad because when she said, "Look, look!" I said to her, "Yes, I've seen you do that before; you do it a lot." I shoulda said something inane like "Oh, yeah. Neat!" (One day I'll learn, maybe)

Since MOSTLY the only things I have to talk about are Nannie and Tinker, I will stop now!

.

I did NOT put on Nannie either of the two sweaters she fiddles with endlessly, and drives me berserk by doing so. She says she is not cold and doesn't need a sweater. So, instead, she has put her hands up her sleeves and then rolls them under the lower hem of the jersey. She was making her outer jersey arms roll up to where they would be if they were only 3/4 sleeves....but when she wears the 3/4 sleeves, she tries to pull them down to be longer. Is there a cross-eyed emoji, cuz if there wuz, I'd put it right here in the Nannie-paragraph. She is plagued with an endless fascination and obsession with her clothing, or maybe it is me that is plagued with her endless activity with the dern sleeves! I should be mindful and thankful that she is QUIET during this fiddling business. This is where my SiL would remind me Nannie has dementia. DUH! But that still doesn't make any difference in how crazy-making it is to me! Even if I am not LOOKING at her, I can see those motions in the corner of my visual field.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Dec 7, 2025

Good evening.

Bleh to work today.

Dianah, apparently since there are some new abrasions to her left eye she presumes it's because the cone is too small and she scratched her eye because she was in pain. I'm still not on board with that but am compliant with the longer one. If she wasn't blind and disoriented it wouldn't bother me as much. It's obvious she hates it. But she's not super agitated. I have pain medication which helps her rest. But it its what it is and like the doc says "we just have to get through it".

Editorial Team / Admin · Dec 7, 2025

Tweety said:

Good evening.

Bleh to work today.

Dianah, apparently since there are some new abrasions to her left eye she presumes it's because the cone is too small and she scratched her eye because she was in pain. I'm still not on board with that but am compliant with the longer one. If she wasn't blind and disoriented it wouldn't bother me as much. It's obvious she hates it. But she's not super agitated. I have pain medication which helps her rest. But it its what it is and like the doc says "we just have to get through it".

Thank you, that explains the rationale, though I would feel about as you do. I hope she heals quickly.