Friday January 10th 205

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 10

Had the laptop plugged in all night, but the battery shows it is down by half. Huh! Guess I'd better plug it back in, pronto! I have to get dressed and run out to the store before Nannie gets up. Hope she stays in bed, and that the precipitation holds off until I get back.

Later!

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 10

Welp, the report on-line said the Winter weather would get here by 4 PM, and by golly it is 4 PM and now there is a (very) light snow a'fallin'. This is the first snow we've had here in THREE YEARS; other sites have said we've not had snow for "over 1,000 days! The roads have all been brined and the larger parking lots have been visited by the salt trucks. During the news at noon, they kept saying, "It's coming! It's on its way" Now it is here, but it remains to be seen if we get a trace or a dusting, or 1-3 inches, or freezing rain and sleet turning the roads to ice. But tomorrow afternoon the temp will rise to 40 degrees, so whatever lands will melt away anyway. However, the store shelves have been stripped of milk, bread, toilet paper and other "necessities" that would be needed if we were going to have an actual really and truly BIG snowstorm and be unable to get out and drive anywhere for DAYS!

The other exclamations.....from Nannie.....have been remarks about all the little sparrows who are swooping in and out of the back yard. "Look at those THINGS!" she said about the birds. Yeh, I put wild birdseed out last night so the critters could have food in their tummies if they have to puff up their feathers today and huddle on tree branches or under porch roofs, if the weather gets mean.

And OMG, I went upstairs for less than 5 minutes and when I came back down to the den, Nannie started telling me about these 4 men who had just come into the den from outside, and they were stomping their feet as if knocking the snow off their boots! (......but there is no actual snow on the ground that anyone could see without a high-powered-microscope!) The men obviously didn't stay too long, as there are no foot-prints on the floor. 😜

Other than having hallucinations, Nannie has been silently and repeatedly inspecting her clothes....the front of the wool sweater where the zipper is, and, of course the ("Look! Look!, See?") SLEEVES, which she always points out to me, saying that she has TWO of them, as well as her 2 shoes! Ya gotta wonder if she doesn't really know that her sweater is all of a piece, or that MOST people do buy TWO shoes, as in a PAIR! She has also asked more than a few times if we are going out anywhere. Uh, no, we are going NO-WHERE because we are already there, which is RIGHT HERE! ....to which she replied, "Oh," and then she called my attention to all the birds again. "There's two of them, no, more than that! Look! A whole BUNCH of birds!" Then she said something about going to the store to get something to put out on the ground (snow-melt), but if it will all be melted by tomorrow afternoon, there is no need to buy any snow-melt. She said, "Well, I didn't know...." She's just trying to think of a reason we need to go out for a ride. I told her that they said on the news, that police were saying that everyone should just stay off the roads, and if they don't have to go out, don't go! She isn't convinced, but I told her that neither SiL or BiL nor I are going to be out driving, so she won't be going anywhere today or tonight! (she's pouting now.)

--------------------------Later---------------

"It's getting dark", sez Nannie, which means she wants me to close the drapes so no one can see into the den and see her sitting there. The fact that there are very few times when 'other people' are out in our back yard does not convince her that they don't gather after dark to watch the TV out in our yard; she sees the reflection of the TV in the glass of the back door, and thinks they are getting 'free TV' out there

I just took her the the bathroom and when we came back into the den she called by attention to "the powder" out on the ground. I said "There's no snow that has accumulated out there." and she said, "I don't know if it is snow or powder, but it is out there; see?" Nope, neither powder nor snow. So I looked exactly where she was pointing, and it is just a patch of sand and dirt where the grass didn't grow because all Summer and Fall, it was shaded by the leafy tree limbs all day, every day.

On the TV there are numerous weather reports from all the towns and cities around us. Then when the commercial came on for a lawyer who does accident cases, and the guy said "CALL NOW!" Nannie wanted to know if WE need to call that number. Then there was a story about FEMA and the big areas in California where everyone had to evacuate and Nannie wanted to know if it affected her at all. Nope, not a bit

Oh gosh, it is the second time shes asked to go in the bathroom, and says she didn't;t do anything the last time she was in ther (less than 10 minutes ago). I asked if she had to just pee, or if she had to poop, and she said "I don't know!" Well, *I* sure don't know either! // And afterwards I went back in and she said she was done; I asked her if she wiped herself and she reached her hand into the trash to pull out some used TP. YECH! I'm always telling her not to stick her hands into the wastebasket !

So that is how the day has gone, useless "conversations" and all.

Are we having fun yet?

Editorial Team / Admin · Jan 11

Hello!

No Stars, I guess a dull day is better than lots of Nannie drama. Hmmmm, which you get in degrees, I suppose. Interesting how her dementia-affected brain works. I'm sure the birds thank you for putting out food for them.

Hello Joe!

Yesterday I didn't do much of anything. I guess I was trying to stay quiet and out of the way, while dh isn't feeling well, so he won't be disturbed. I SHOULD have exercised in the evening, but I didn't, and ended up not being able to sleep last night. I took a little nap at noon, while dh was feeding the felines. He is feeling much better today, though is still prone to napping. He says he thinks he is recovering well. We didn't test for Covid, just assumed he has a cold.

I think, too, yesterday and lately, truth be told, I am affected by the carnage left by the fires near LA. Dh's parents used to live in Santa Monica; we have attended a bluegrass festival in Topanga Canyon; we used to visit friends who lived in Eaton Canyon, and we have hiked several times to the waterfall deep in the canyon. We used to live in Glendale, which is right next to Pasadena and Altadena -- still have friends in Altadena. I just really feel for the families, who now must pick up the pieces (if any are left) and begin again -- either same place or elsewhere. Am looking into someplace to donate funds. I can't give much but hope my little bit may help. I am SO glad the winds have died down.

I just got back from a quick grocery run, and am changed into my 'house clothes' (for comfort). We have nothing planned for this weekend. I noticed a memorial service is being held tomorrow in Kingman, AZ, for a friend's mom. Am not going, of course (especially with dh convalescing) but will be thinking of the family. I spent a lot of time with their family when I was in college and in my senior year of high school (at a Christian boarding academy). I have fond memories.

OK, onward and forward! Have a good evening and weekend!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jan 11

The fires are devastating. ABC had a special about it and I asked George to switch the channel to something more light hearted.

They told a coworker on day shift and night shift they didn't get the position I am applying for. But told me nothing. I guess I'm still in the running or my turn to be turned down is coming up. I'll take it well if I don't get it. I'm a bit surprised the night shift nurse didn't get it as I like him a lot.

Work was quite busy with things. I didn't have a rapid response called but had a patient that needed to be transferred to a higher level of care for an amioderone (sp?) drip. To my shock the charge nurse and nurse from the other unit came down to get her.

No Stars In My Eyes · Jan 11

I went out to the mailbox at 9:15 PM, and the cement driveway had the potential to be a little more slippery, but it wasn't a 'scary' walk to the mailbox. But don't you dare step on the grass, because the grass is VERY slippery! And the plastic mailbox has what looks like a bad case of hives.....the blops of freezing rain dried in place and it is 'bumpy' all over!

NO ONE is out on the road AT ALL! It amazes me how quiet it gets when no one is driving anywhere. I had forgotten that about a snowstorm; I used to live near an Interstate highway up in Asheville, and it was REALLY profoundly quiet there when it snowed a lot.

Oh, yes, those aerial shots of all the totally burned down houses.....it was shocking to see so many houses destroyed, the neighborhoods 'neatly' laid out in rows and rows and rows. It was appalling and kind of nauseating to realize the scope of destruction. I'm going to give some little something to the Red Cross, to help with everything they will have to handle for all the newly homeless.

Bedtime for Nannie! YAY!