Monday May 2nd 2022

Tweety, BSN, RN · May 2, 2022

Good morning!

Glad you had a quiet day Joe. Hope you have a good start to your work week.

Stars, I was today year's old when I learned about the tradition of giving flowers or baskets of flowers on May 1st. A coworker from Michigan was telling me about it this weekend and was surprised I'd never heard of such a thing. I've always known it to be International Workers or Labor Day.

If one would have told me I'd spend my entire nursing career as a med-surg nurse (I did venture into the med-surg side of neuro, trauma and tele) at the start I would have not agreed. But here I am 30 years later. I thought I would venture into critical care but actually that didn't interest me. Maybe if I started younger and had more confidence I would have gotten an NP or MSN and been an instructor. But I can't complain because at the end of the day life's been good to me if I focus on what is rather than what could have been. Some regrets but no remorse.

I can't complain much about this weekend at work. It wasn't too crazy. I did have to talk one person out of going AMA and we got one of those final hour admissions.

Things are much better staffing wise with techs. We actually had two techs yesterday and it wasn't too recently we didn't have any. We're hopefully will catch up with nurses. One just came off of orientation and she's charge capable and will do charge M-T-W. Looks like I'll be in charge one day one week, and two days the next in a rotating schedule. Fine with me.

Off today. Today is the final night of bowling until next fall and we're having a covered dish night and I signed up for macaroni salad. I think I'll just make it fresh rather than buy it already made.

Hope everyone has a good day.

nursej22, MSN, RN · May 2, 2022

Good morning. It's raining here, but the temp was already up to 50 by 7. Yesterday was nice, so I was out in my yard, weeding and fertilizing. I brushed up against a couple of rose canes, and have a couple of wounds that are really sore. I couldn't close my right hand last night and its visibly swollen. It's better today. I've soaked it in hot water a couple of times, to get it to fester up and push out any foreign body. But at least I am able to use a keyboard and mouse.

Tweety, its nice to see you have a decent weekend. And be able to not do charge every shift. Good luck at bowling tonight!

Hi Joe. A quiet weekend is probably helpful to recover. Ugh, emails at work. I will check them on my days off, just to week out the extraneous ones. I have gotten a lot of lists that I don't want to be on and won't let me opt out.

I do remember making little construction paper cones with handles to fill with flowers and hang on neighbors' door knobs. My mother always had lots of Spring flowers to fill them with, like daffodils and columbine. I think we made the cones in school.

Ado Annie, ASN, RN · May 2, 2022

Good afternoon Tweety, Stars, Joe, anyone else who happens along!

Big sigh of relief, and knock on wood: I believe all the reporting to CMS that is due tonight is complete. Will look for a way to confirm here in a little bit. But I think it's good. There's another upcoming deadline on the 16th, but I've proven to myself that I can do this, even without help.

When I first started this career, even though I was already nearing 50, I thought I'd get an MSN. I have a non-nursing BS and an ASN so would have to find an RN-MSN program or first complete an RN-BSN program. The problem is money. (LOL, isn't it always?) Also thought maybe I'd do critical care, maybe even in Peds or Neonates. But here I am. And it's OK. I did work the floor Saturday night. We only had 2 patients but one was a bedbound and incontinent man getting lactulose ? and the other a little old lady with cystitis who wanted to pee every hour and was a bit of a princess so took lots of "care" every time. Definitely didn't make me long to be back on the floor all the time.

Hubs is really feeling the caregiver stress right now. It's a demanding job and infrequently rewarding. I tried a couple of months ago to encourage using an adult daycare so he could have a couple days off each week. He didn't want to do it. (the closest one is 25 minutes away and they want you to commit to at least 3 days/week or maybe it was 4). I will make a call to one of the local home health agencies about getting some kind of help. Gma can pay for it.

Editorial Team / Admin · May 3, 2022

Hello all! I wish herring would return, I worry about her. I think she would if she could. I am guessing she has had health issues and is unable to post. She is in my prayers, as are you all.

nursej22, hope your puncture wounds heal up and don't cause problems.

Ado Annie, hope you can locate someone for respite care, to give your dh (and you too!) a break. Kudos getting all the reporting done!

Joe, I'll bet it felt good to be exercising. Hope you are fully recovered now.

Today was spent doing some cleaning in the RV and in the house. I rode along as dh took the RV to get propane and gasoline, and then helped him with the hose at home, to fill the water tank. We drink bottled water and use bottled water for meal prep, when camping, and use the RV water only for showers. Tomorrow I will get my mammogram then go shopping for trip groceries. Tonight I make the shopping list. Maybe do some shredding, I dunno.

Have a good evening!

No Stars In My Eyes · May 3, 2022

HA! Joke's on me, because all day I thought it was Tuesday, not that it makes heck of a lot of difference one way or the other~

Didn't do any laundry, so I guess that's on the agenda for tomorrow. Went to the grocery store and bought Nannie TWO 45-pad packages. Honestly, I get very tired of seeing her run out of pads when I just bought a 27-pack for her the other day. I estimate she "goes"(literally!) through about ten pads in 24 hours. I emptied her wastebasket last night at seven o'clock and then at 7 o'clock tonight it was full-up again. Not really something to be aggravated about, but never-the-less, I am aggravated!

We are awaiting the neighbor's sow to drop her piglets; it's kind suspenseful! Have no idea when it might occur, but it seems fairly imminent, as it has been reported to us that when one of the neighbors rubbed her belly, the piglets could be felt to be moving around some.

Tweety, I liked that "I was today year's old when I learned..." (about May 1st flowers) Come to think of it, maybe you hadn't been born yet when I was carrying on that activity. Aren't you somewhere about 9 or 10 years younger than me? Well, anyway, that phrase has made me smile a lot, and I needed that, so thank you for being so clever! ?

j22, "Ichthymol drawing salve" is good to get things to the surface of your skin. Also tobacco, believe it or not. Put a wad of wet-ish tobacco on a gauze pad and apply directly on it to the places where you got stuck. Not only does it draw out splinters nicely, but it also keeps the site from getting infected. I don't really understand how that comes to be, that it 'repels' infection, but it's worked that way twice for me, so I'm a believer.

Dianah, wish we were getting ready to take a trip somewhere. We used to have the best time on road trips; it was so much fun! One of these days we'll get to do so again.

Hello Ado, amo-Lu, Rose, and I am sending prayers and love to you, herring, wherever you are.