Monday August 4th 2025

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Aug 4

AUGH! I can't believe it, but last night I discovered I do not have any bay leaves! I'll have to pick some up when I go out later on today. And a second "Augh!" because the humidity is 90% right now. May be a shower or two late this afternoon, right about when I pick Nannie up from daycare. I hope it's not soaker like it was the last time I picked her up. But this time I will be sure to close the passenger door and turn the car off before I come inside with Nannie. I got DRENCHED 2X on Friday and had to change my clothes TWICE!

Well, we have had a somewhat interesting morning....after Tinker and I came back inside, I got Nannie up to the bathroom for a wash and dress. The whole time that was going on, Tink was at the back (glass) door doing a quiet growl, followed by a quiet but emphatic bark(several times), and when we came out to the den to put Nannie's breakfast tray on her lap...... I saw 6 or 7 birds with long-ish wingspans walking along the peak of the tool-shed. They were larger than a crow, but were not raptors because their beaks looked different (were straight, not curved,) and their necks were longer. The underside of the ends of their wings had white-ish feathers. I finally decided they were a bunch of young vultures. Tinker was VERY interested in watching them.. I could tell they were young not just because of their size, but also because they had no reaction when BiL drove his large white pick-up truck up to the back door. They just kept hopping around and stretching their wings (practice flapping?) kinda dumb acting, but just doing their baby-vulture thing. They didn't even leave until about 5 minutes after BiL had driven Nannie away. Then they went up into the trees way down at the back of the yard. After practicing hopping from limb to limb, they took off. I guess the baby-vultures were fairly freshly out of the nest, and this was a class in Vulture 101.

Haven't decided what I will do today. Maybe ought to clean up the sinks again, there are pots and pans and knives and serving spoons plus the bowls and spoons we used....... because I actually cooked supper last night! It was quite delicious and we have leftovers for tonight; Nannie doesn't remember what she ate from one meal to the next, so she won't be saying "But we just ate this last night!"

And I do have changing my bed on the itinerary but we all know how good I am at blowing off tasks until I am really ready to deal with them. And like I've said before, when I tell y'all my plans, they don't come to fruition, and I end up going with something like Plan D7, whatever that might be....or NOT be. There's a lot I COULD do if I would apply myself, but then again, "could be doing" is not the same as "doing".

Now that my coffee has engaged my brain and blood flow, I will not be able to nap like I felt like I could do earlier on. Ooohhhh Wwellllll!

So I will end here and go on to read the on-line news. Laydah, y'all!

PS: The young vultures just came back to the shed's roof and they are going from there to the roof of this house,, and then back again. Tinker is on LOUD alert right now. If I take her out again she will be dancing and hopping on her hind legs wanting to be taller or climb up a tree or on the roof, or fly after them. She sure doesn't care about the chickens next door; they aren't half as interesting as the young vultures.

2nd PS: I do have to go out today because when I looked at my calendar it said "Eye exam at 2:30 PM" Good thing I noticed that!

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 4

Good morning!

Trying to maintain an attitude of gratitude but people get on my nerves and I only have about a quarter nerve left. LOL

Anyway, off today after a busy weekend at work although yesterday was slower because we were full and didn't have a lot of discharges or drama.

My right knee has really been bothering me. So something new to worry about and deal with. Not to mention the e coli infection seems to still be with me. I wonder if taking ibuprofen for my knee aggravated it.

(edit: I just Googled and AI told me that ibuprofen doesn't affect but can be helpful in e coli infection..so that's not the reason for a relapse in symptoms...bleh....might contact the doc on this one. I just don't have time for this. LOL)

I try to be thankful that I don't have a terminal painful illness and am not as sick as what a lot of people have to deal with and that I'm okay and will be okay. Attitude of gratitude is not my default state.

I did sleep quite a bit with my benzo which I've been taking a lot these days and need to do a wean. But that would involve not sleeping well and I deserve to sleep well. LOL

Have a great day. Sorry for being a downer.

No Stars In My Eyes, LPN · Aug 4

You aren't being a downer Tweety. Goodness knows I do more than my share of griping and moaning about the 'events' and NON-events in my life, so just have at it! As The Firesign Theater used to say, "We are all Bozos on this bus." Not saying we are clowns, but we here are 'unfortunate' enough to feel deeply, which makes things tough, and in that way, we share (oh ugh, I hate this word or expression:) "the journey". 🙄 But ya know whot I mean, doncha?

I have to go to the bank as well as the eye doctor. And I got a weird email from my primary doc's office, saying that I was "INVITED to make an appointment" there. I mean, do they want to do some kind of follow-up or something? If so, just say I am due for a re-check! Never have been invited to make an appointment ever before in my life!

And, I don't feel like going to get my nails done, although they are due or a tad over-due. But I just don't feel like sitting there for an hour and I don't wanna spend any money if I can help it. I also wanna have my hair trimmed, but there's the same reason as the nails thing.

Like I've said before, having to do cleaning, go on errands and go to appointments on my only days off (which don't even total a full day, and never a night!) doesn't really give me much of any time OFF. So there's MY usual downer!

I wanted to make a fish sandwich, the loaf-bread is all green (I don't think we eat much bread here.) and then I burned the fish, and the tarter sauce had a use-by date of 2023! I suppose it wasn't meant to be!

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Aug 4

Inspired by you all, I made blueberry-banana muffins last night and that was my breakfast this morning. I suspect that with my crowd at home (both Twin A and Twin B are on "vacation" this week) there won't be any left ... but I might do this again. They were pretty good.

Regarding Hidden Valley Road about the family with all the schizophrenic brothers, I kind of remember reading that a great-uncle or someone had some episodes that might have been relevant, and the father was treated for depression and PTSD at least once but maintained a successful career until having a stroke. The book goes into some detail about some of the research, particularly involving genetics, and it is mind-boggling to me how they're able to make the connections they do. It is still a needle-in-a-very-large-haystack endeavor.

Twin B wanted to try something in the crockpot so we made "ropa vieja" which I hadn't done in a long time. Supposedly the shredded beef resembles "old clothes," hence the name. Chuck roast with onion, garlic, bell pepper, tomato sauce, and cumin. Should have cilantro as well but I didn't make my family have the cilantro. Served over rice or with tortillas (or both). I agree that stewed meat tastes better if seared first.

I'm getting that feeling that it's time for a haircut but I share Stars' opinion that who has time for that?

We have little ants in the kitchen, too. They got kind of bad a few weeks ago and then disappeared for a bit, and now they're back though not quite so many. I may set out some bay leaves!

The air force base near OKC where my dad was a civil service employee is Tinker AFB so that is what I think of when I think of "Tinker."

A pleasant 80 degrees out right now but heading towards 99 by the end of the week. As always, I'm freezing in the office, which claims to be 71.1 but I don't believe it's even that warm. I should not have to be cold in August.

Stars, you have me a little concerned about traveling to Charlotte in late September for the risk management conference.

nursej22, MSN, RN · Aug 4

Gosh, Tweety. Maybe you don't need another colonoscopy, but it seems that a GI consult would be in order.

We saw turkey vultures on our last trip to the Oregon coast. I thought they were mainly in the south.

We have been spared poor air quality for the second year in a row. Joe, I am sorry you are having to deal with that.

I got a facial yesterday and the esthetician and I were have good laughs about Mrs. Doubtfire, and shopping at Costco. I rode my bike there and back, and did some gardening. We had freshly dug potatoes with dinner. They are so yummy!

I've been out on my bike this morning. It remains mild, almost cool with a marine layer lingering and blocking the sun.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Aug 4

There is a big crowd of turkey vultures in our little town.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Aug 4

nursej22 said:

Gosh, Tweety. Maybe you don't need another colonoscopy, but it seems that a GI consult would be in order.

Yes. That is the next step being discussed with my PCP. Both the ER doc and my PCP seemed convinced it would go away in a matter of days. But if not consult to GI. I'm just procrastinating and hoping it gets better. It's my history that when I have some thing wrong I ignore it and it goes away,

I went to the gym and wasn't able to use the treadmill but was able to lift some weights. Watched three shows on Apple and Netflix. I have some chickpea soup for dinner.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · Aug 5

Got home to a letter from the GI clinic that its time for a colonoscopy 🫣🤣

Editorial Team / Admin · Aug 5

Hello all!

I slept OK, then after lunch I dropped off a little gift at a friend's house, then went over to Lowe's to cruise the aisles. I need to prevent the cats from going under the bed, had some ideas but after looking at what was available, am not sure anything in the store would be helpful. Need more time to think on it.

When I got home, we had a nice phone call from a friend who is recovering from abdominal surgery, which was complicated by a post-op pulmonary embolism (not surprising to hear, as he is a big guy with preop mobility issues). The PE extended his hospital stay probably a week, but he finally went home and has had slow progress. But he HAS had progress! Some 30 years ago he was in a car accident that resulted in a fx spine. He recovered from that, re-taught himself to walk and to play his instruments. He has had mobility issues since that recovery. Again, though, he IS making progress!! Two impediments have been: lack of strength and fatigue. He is now able to walk into the kitchen and remain standing/doing things for approx 20 min, rather than entering the kitchen and turning right back around to head for the bed, exhausted. He is in our prayers. He gave me some tips on playing my guitar, he and dh gabbed a bit, and then we asked if he wanted us to send him anything. Yes: Oatmeal raisin and Chocolate Chip cookies! So, guess what I will be doing in the next few days?!!

I made some of the Chicken Tomatillo Soup, and roasted some turnips, and chopped some red onion to place in the freezer, so it is available if I want some in salad or whenever. I keep trying to find replacements for snacking chips - thus the "crackers" and these roasted turnips!

Dh spotted some blood in the urine of one of the cats -- LuLu, who we have been watching, for she vomits almost every day (mostly stomach fluids), and she is frequently in the litter box for small amounts of urine. She has been checked and treated several times in the past for UTI; my nurse-sense says she may have some sort of CA interfering with elimination. Dunno, though. After seeing the blood in her urine today, we made an appointment for her to be seen tomorrow afternoon. We'll see what happens.

Within the last 24 hours has developed a fire up near Big Bear Lake. So far it isn't near the eagle's nest, however the helicopters are pulling water from the lake near the nest, so we think the eagles might stay away for a bit. We hope the fire is soon contained -- so far it is 348 acres (in steep and rugged territory) and 0% contained. Gosh, I hope ALL the fires are soon contained (there are an awful lot of them across the US and Canada).

Have a good evening!