Halloween Monday October 31 2022

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 31, 2022

Good morning!

Yes, sometimes life and change can lead to freedom and growth.

Day off and it should be relatively low key. Might take a nap to rest up for bowling.

I don't participate in Halloween anymore but used to go a party every year. If I'm not working I make it clear I'm not giving out candy by keeping it dark.

Have a great day.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Oct 31, 2022

Joe, sounds like an important conversation/realization/recognition you had. I don't know how long you and J were together, but change is usually daunting at first and then you see the opportunities it affords. It is good that you like each other and can still be friends. It is always good to have a good friend.

dianah, sorry to hear you've got gypsies, too. Hope it has settled down.

The ribbon-cutting and open house Friday went well and the licenses and approvals are good to go. We met at the bar afterwards and I saw a high school classmate and her husband and sister-in-law and had a good visit.

I bought a color-changing LED light that is supposed to go inside a jack o' lantern but we are too lazy to carve the pumpkin so I experimented last night with having it shine on the skeleton sitting at the outside table. Looks good. We don't get many trick-or-treaters but there should be a few. We have puhlenty of candy because I put some in my Walmart pick-up order and then the boys were going to the store for something for dinner and they brought home a lot of candy, too. I brought one bag in to work today.

Looks as if the hospital is going to hire Twin B as a PRN registration clerk for nights. They would have given him the part-time job of 11p to 7a on the weekends but wanted someone who would be available for training and such the weekend he will be gone to Indianapolis. (which is *this* weekend, oh how time flies). I don't blame him for choosing to go ahead with his trip.

I'm trying to stay out of the new facility while housekeeping does the final cleaning before the move.

On the home front, the contractors are supposed to start on our new shower on Wednesday.

No Stars In My Eyes · Oct 31, 2022

It is a warm (67) overcast day with off and on rain. Nannie is doing her after-lunch snooze, and hubby is out in his 'office'. We have decided to just pop some pot-pies into the oven and nuke some broccoli 'florets'. Nice not to have to try to decide where to go get take-out, but not nice enough to make us start cooking suppers regularly...

Wow! Can you even begin to imagine what it would be like to win that BILLION dollar Power-Ball? It would be downright SCARY to me! Though I wouldn't say "NO" if I did actually break the 1-in-290-million-something odds. Would have to hire more than a few financial advisors, at least!, Whew!

We will have a darkened front porch and any lights that might be visible from the street will be OFF. The last time we 'did' Halloween (l990-ish), we ended up spending $75 on candy and I said, "THAT is IT! NO MORE Halloweens!" We have some neighbors who have gone ALL OUT on their yard decorations, with giant blow-up figures, spider-webs, giant spiders....and one I saw was one of those giant roosters that had a slightly smaller skeleton riding it. Not particularly Halloweenish, but I liked it.

Hubby asked me last night, "Was I THAT BAD when I was drinking?" He told me he is just tired of sitting around watching the grass grow. He has been sober for almost 4 days, and goes back to the doc tomorrow afternoon. He isn't impressed by AA, he said, "All they do is give you a couple of phone numbers to call if you feel like drinking, and tell you to call them at any time." Like I said, I wish there was something he liked that he could do or get involved in that would not make him short-of-breath, or wear him out or bore him to tears.

Time to stick the pot-pies in the oven.

Later~

nursej22, MSN, RN · Oct 31, 2022

Hi. We are having a break in the rain for now, looks like it will restart anytime. Dh is going to set up the pop-up cover over my decorated card table at the end of the driveway. I will leave out candy in a bowl and once it’s gone it’s gone.
interesting day at work. I made a home visit to pick up immigration labs from a lady who is sponsoring her nephew who is an unaccompanied minor from Guatemala. Neither of them speak English. Back at the office I got a call from a community physician asking about treating for TB. And I watched the weekly Zoom TB meeting sponsored by the state.
NoStars, your hubby might actually make friends if there are actual AA meetings to attend. Or even called someone. Or, and I know this is probably a nonstarter, going to the Senior Center. I know ours serves lunch a couple of days a week. Just sharing a meal with others might be nice. just my 2 cents.

No Stars In My Eyes · Nov 1, 2022

They have re-opened the Senior Center and I plan to go in and pick-up a monthly schedule of activities. They used to have a group-sing open to any and everyone, and after that served a meal. Good suggestions. Now if I can only talk him into accompanying me to SOMETHING. I hope the doc will really lay-on the idea of staying off the booze by going to AA for support. We have no social niche here, though hubby makes friends easily, ordinarily. I may have to stamp my foot and DRAG HIM to an AA mtg. Maybe we can find a church, but I dunno if he'll be amenable to going to several Sunday's-worth of services at different churches. A long while back he started attending a church where he knew the guy who was the pastor ... Knew him, in fact, since the pastor was a pre-teen-age neighbor. He went to that church for about 6 to 8 months and dealing with him was a lot easier.

Oh well. I'd like to kick him in the butt to get him jump-started, but he is stuck in the MOPING mind-set. It's like the proverbial "pulling teeth" when making suggestions, because there is always a reason why he "can't" or "won't". But he is the only one who CAN pull himself out of this deeeeep rut he is in. I almost think he'd prefer to go to rehab for a few weeks, but he has so many other health issues; it's like Tweety told me, rehabs don't want to take on someone with multiple illnesses. Maybe the doc knows of something somewhere.

Ah, me, I can't cure life's problems, and I have enough of my own "stuff" to deal with.

Editorial Team / Admin · Nov 1, 2022

Hello all!

No Stars, four days for your dh to be sober is at least FOUR DAYS! Agree, it's hard to change someone else's mind-set (moping mode, as you say) -- it's hard enough to change OUR mind-set, let alone someone else's! Hopefully, inside, he knows you care enough to do all you are doing for him. He has to make his own decisions, though, which is the kicker. Prayers continue. And, nothin' wrong with pot pies!! ?

Hip is much better today, with just lazing around the house. But there are still some leg positions that I feel the joint is tight or pulling, or painful. I don't limp like when it first happened. Yah, gypsies. Them joints just getting older and wore out. ?

Youngest son called last night, he and his wife are flying out Wednesday to Los Angeles. They will attend the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees ceremony on Sat night. BUT, they will roll into our neck of the woods on Friday, to have lunch with us and with oldest ds. He was already apprised of their plans, and he took the day off to be available. They will likely go off and toodle around, after lunch. But we made plans to see them all!

Then, on Saturday we will head out to Carlsbad for a bluegrass festival. It will be in full swing on Friday, but we will arrive Saturday and we have a motel room Sat night in the building where all the get-togethers are being planned. So, jamming for almost 48 hours! It will be fun!

Happy Halloween to all! We turn the lights out. When our kids were little, there was a lot of trick-or-treating activity in the neighborhood, but not anymore. And honestly, we don't need the leftover candy! So we will turn the lights off and not be home.

Have a good evening!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Nov 1, 2022

2 girls came to trick-or-treat. That is all. I threw big handfuls of candy into their bags and we still have leftovers. These days there are so many "events" where kids go and get candy in a fun atmosphere so door-to-door trick-or-treating just isn't the norm, I guess. We used to have a lot of fun doing it.

A black cat has been hanging around. It has a collar but shows up every day yowling like it's starving and Hubs feeds it. We have a lot of dry cat food that out senior cat can no longer eat (and if you think Sam would be OK with dry food while Turbo is getting canned food - ha!). Anyway, when a black cat shows up in your Halloween decorations, you must take a picture.