Monday April 14th 2025

Tweety, BSN, RN · Apr 14

Good morning!

I meant to post yesterday but must have gotten distracted.

Glad to read good sleep from Dianah and Joe.

Stars, while venting sometimes doesn't change things it keeps us sane sometimes just to post about it. God knows you've listen to my work woes day after day.

Actually had a fairly decent work day. For whatever reason the ER was slow and we only got three admissions. We were full when I left them with 8 empty beds so hopefully they didn't get that many admissions but the ER was slow.

I celebrated a good weekend by stopping by ordering Taco Bell. It's too easy. As I was leaving I placed my order online and paid with Google Pay and swung by the store and it was ready. Bad habit, but good.

I'm off for three days. Tomorrow I have someone coming by between 8AM and 5PM to repair the refrigerator. Hopefully tomorrow they can hone in on a better window than all day.

I know you guys have listened to me complain time and time again about the high cost of insurance here but it does seem to be the roof lowered my premium by $1500 which makes me very happy and feeling better about things. So you will have a year's reprieve until I complain about how much it goes up next year.

I was reading a NYT article that 30% of people read at the level of a 10 year old and the new generation of students have high absenteeism and the college age ones don't read. I know most of us here are readers. This doesn't seem to bode well for the future and says it affects people's ability to navigate the world and reason. It also says we are seeing this play out in real time today.

Have a great day. Hope people continue to sleep well.

No Stars In My Eyes · Apr 14

I turned the light out early last night (for me) at 1 AM.....after I had dozed off about four times, with the book in my lap. Then I slept like the dead until SiL called me twice to get me to go down and unlock the back door for her. She whizzed in the house at 7:15 AM, saying she had to come early because she had an appointment to take HER mother to have a stress test. She said "Here's your check".

It is dated with TOMORROW's date, not for today. 😩 I know I have several automatic withdrawal payments coming up, so I'll have to be VEWY, VEWY careful not to spend today! I don't know if the bank will accept a deposit today with the next day's date on it. Prolly not.

EGADS, it is supposed to reach 84 degrees today. Maybe now that I am dressed and ready for the day....I could lay back down and nap until 4:30 PM? Naw, don't think so.

By the way, I had to toss out the contents of the crock-pot the day after I ate the soup, because I forgot to put it in the fridge after it cooled off, and it sat there for overnight and most of the next day "germinating"; so, I didn't dare eat any more of it.

I thank you all for your support as I try to slough off my daily discontent.

All for now.....

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 14

Tweety said:

I was reading a NYT article that 30% of people read at the level of a 10 year old and the new generation of students have high absenteeism and the college age ones don't read. I know most of us here are readers. This doesn't seem to bode well for the future and says it affects people's ability to navigate the world and reason. It also says we are seeing this play out in real time today.

They seem to prefer watching Youtubes rather than reading about things. Just my observation, not a judgment, here. 😉

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 14

Hello all!

I slept pretty well (after falling asleep after 3am). Today I will drop off some mail for oldest ds. I will also bring him some of the Chicken Tomatillo Soup. He texted yesterday that, in addition to the Cat Cafe, he will now be taking shifts at a nearby Bar and Grill -- as bartender. I hope it is a good fit; time will tell. 🙂

So, we missed Dapper Day yesterday. Our passes were blocked out, and we didn't want to purchase tickets to attend just the one day (would have been probably $500). I missed seeing all the outfits (people are so clever and artistic!) and visiting with the other Dapper Ones. Ah well. It's not earth-shattering.

Speaking of earth-shattering, apparently there was an earthquake near here (near the little apple town of Julian, nearer to San Diego than here actually), around an hour ago. My Earthquake Tracker app says it was a 5.1, so I should have felt it but I didn't. There have reportedly been some aftershocks of 2.0, 2.1, etc.

Well, I better get going to get ready. Have a good day!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Apr 14

Stars, I don't mind a bit reading your grumbles. We all have our "things" and it does help a little to share.

I stayed up too late last night but Twin A wanted to try making bread and we didn't get started until the evening. This all started because I indulged one of the boys' food plans that required buying bread flour and then there we were stuck with a lot of bread flour. Our bread is dense and the crust is very crust-y. Hubs thinks our oven runs a little hot and he might be right.

Tweety, glad you've had some reasonable shifts. We're fighting the battle of rural healthcare in OK... patient needs transport to a nursing home 30 miles away. Is wheelchair-bound. Nursing home doesn't provide transportation. EMS won't do it. And no one wants to pay for private options (and there are not many of those).

I was getting anxious that I hadn't heard from the tax preparer. They called today. While Hubs and I are getting a reasonable refund, Gma owes over $7,000. Mainly because my husband is an idiot. My cross to bear. She has no cash reserves because, well, because he got rid of them by divvying out the remainder after his sister died last year. I thought at the time that it was bad idea. But I didn't push or insist.

Hubs had so much back pain yesterday that we left church after the choir sang. He somehow damaged a tire on the Jeep the other day while mowing. (as in hit the tire with the mower and sliced it). So today we are getting new tires for the Jeep and he is replacing brake pads. Twin A is at work and Twin B is sleeping so he can work tonight so I'm going to Gma-sit while all this gets done.

Gma's bed is just the other side of the wall from ours and I hear her talking a lot at night. I don't think she's talking in her sleep. I think she's wide awake and talking. It's hard to make out what she's saying, though.

No Stars In My Eyes · Apr 14

Geeze, $7,000? ! 😳YIKES! I don't know if the elder here owes anything or not; I remain happily ignorant, while BiL is the one paying her bills, etc.

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to do the afternoon pickup at the Sr.Ctr. and I sent 3 different messages to SiL over 65 minutes, and heard nothing back, so I did the pick up and then went to put my check from iL's in the "Night Depository" so it will go through first thing tomorrow. (I think I should get a big, fat raise, but I ain't sayin' that to them!) I didn't stop anywhere to spend any money, whatever we have will have to suffice. Not sure what supper will be, but there's stuff in the freezer that can be nuked for you-know-who to eat.

AWWWW! 🤨 Guess who is picking boogers and "eating" them? GROSS! I wish I hadn't looked over there at that particular moment. 😖😝 I know it's only a combo of dried and moist mucus, but still......BLICK-ICK-GAG!

Tonight the 2nd half of American Idol is on, so we will watch that. Nice break from HGTV as they are showing re-runs of re-runs of re-runs. I am worried for the folks who have shows on HGTV, with all this tariff stuff and housing problems, and the increasing costs of building materials; I mean, when will that whole channel take a header? Because, for sure, real estate will suffer along with everybody else. *sigh*

Time to watch the news and get more disgusted! Wheeeee!!

nursej22, MSN, RN · Apr 15

Hi. It's sunny and pleasant , and I just want to crawl back into bed. I've been coughing a lot, dry and hacky. I'm not sure if it's allergies or a cold, or both. I can feel an occasional wheeze, and I have an old inhaler that helps. I did a covid test which was negative. Wah, I am a terrible patient.

I indulged and went to a local fast food chain called Taco Time a couple of days ago.. They have a veggie soft taco that I quite like. I tell myself it's healthy, because it has pepitos (pumpkin seeds on it). I used to go to Taco Bell after a stressful evening shift. A Crunch Wrap Supreme was my comfort food. That, or a Sour Dough Jack, which was next door. LOL. I have really cut back on fast food. So salty and fatty.

My grandsons enjoy reading, but so does their mama. They are 13 and 15. And I would guess they are at grade level or above.

This month is bill month, apparently. We owed federal taxes, property tax is due, and the pickup needs transmission work. And dh has had some medical visits. Oh, and there are a few charges on the credit card from our trip.

Editorial Team / Admin · Apr 15

I hope you rest up and feel better soon, nursej22.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Apr 15

Twin B is a reader and wannabe writer. But he also spends a lot of time gaming. Both boys enjoyed books when I read to them all those years ago. Twin A reads graphic novels. Hubs has an appreciation for poetry and literature but is not really a reader.

I noticed today that my throat is red and mildly sore. I'm going to blame allergies since I've had other symptoms, too.