Sunday August 11th 2024

[Joe NightingMale, MSN, RN]

Tweety sounds like she would have no problem with med school

Dianah hope practice goes well

NJ22 I'm looking to get the next Covid booster too, cases are on the rise around here

Stars I'm glad she settled down quickly, hopefully this proves a one time thing

Fairly regular day yesterday.  Did bird watching in the morning.  Then did some grocery shopping afterwards and had lunch with dad.  Then did some baking, trying out a new muffin recipe that will hopefully be less dry than the one I was using.  In the evening I exercised and watched part of Svengoolie

Today will go to church early to usher, then will meet some people from the over 50 group for coffee.  Later will exercise and do the cooking for the week.  Have to take a class for my NC license on Wed, so will need to read some materials in preparation for that

Will be a bit warmer today, in the low 80s

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

Good morning!

Joe, sounds like a nice day planned.

Dianah, hope you have a good practice.

My dad complains my sister never lets him do anything.  My sister says she lets him do what he's capable of and doesn't want to take away his independence.  But at least he's in his correct mind and won't do things he physically can't.  Mostly because he's so arthritic now.  Mom is lazy and doesn't want to do anything but forgets sometimes she needs a walker to walk.  

I get my covid booster in the fall along with the flu shot so I'm not due.   I'll have to think about the RSV one.   It's hard to tell if cases are on the rise here but it seems there is a summertime surge again like there has been every Summer.  Maybe this is the strain they will vaccinate against?  The one time I got covid was in the Summer of 2022, three months later had the flu.  Actually that was the last time I was sick.  During my eval recently I had no call outs for the year prior.  I've probably just cursed myself thinking it.

Not much happening here.  It was nearly 1AM before I felt like going to sleep but slept reasonable well after that.  It's probably not good to flip flop sleeping patterns so much on my days off.  Going to yoga here in a few.  It's so muggy and hot but I might think about doing some mowing which I have talked about but haven't done.  LOL

 

 

[dianah, ASN]

Hello all!

Joe, what kind of muffins did you make?  Temp in the 80's sounds good!  Even though it's the weekend (days off), you sound busy!

Tweety, hope you don't 'need' a nap later.  I slept three hours, then was awake for another 3 hr or so, then slept in a little.  We did have a good practice, so I think we're ready for Sunday's program.  We will get together at the festival, and have a quick review, maybe Saturday night.  We hope to get in a lot of jamming, too!  🙂  October is my month for flu and Covid vaccines.  Have never taken the RSV or Shingrix vaccines, still mulling them over.  I had an older shingles vaccine, and at my recent Cardiology visit, the LVN said they have a newer, more effective shingles vaccine.  Hmmmm... 

So, did you end up mowing?  😉 

Today is one of a couple of prep days, before the festival.  I am making mental lists, rather than doing lots of active packing (that comes later).  I am watching Olympic highlights.  The controversy over the gymnastics floor exercise bronze is very sad, and disappointing, no matter which way it goes.  I think any Olympics has a few glitches/issues, and this one is no different.  There are also lots of heartwarming, encouraging stories of obstacles overcome by the athletes.  Kudos to them all.

Have a good day/evening!

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Yup, hot and muggy here, too. May get some rain later, but I don't know, because Mother Nature pays no attention to the meteorologists.

So, after hell-day yesterday, SiL came by to give me a brief break. She got Nannie up and bathed, dressed, and gave her breakfast, and they sat outside for a little while. BiL came by and removed the fallen branch, and then mowed the lawn. They were here for 2 hours. Five minutes after they left I came down to the den and Nannie has NO memory of either of them being here, getting a shower, or sitting outside. When I told her, she just looked at me like I was talking Swahili. Right now, she is dozing, with a frown on her face.

Ima bee kwy-et-er than a mouse so she won't wake up!

Got my bed stripped and covered the new mattress with a Momo-pee-proof fitted sheet. I wonder if it will crackle when I am in bed, or if the plastic will make me sweat? Time will tell. Remade my bed with pretty new sheets. I may put MY laundry in the wash. Haven't checked Nannie's bed yet. When SiL comes to get her up, she just tosses Nannie's dirty clothes on top of the washer, and leaves the towels in the tub; never checks Nannie's "pre-made" bed for any wetness. But that's okay, at least I got to rest quietly in bed while they were here. 

So, I better get my laundry into the washer before I forget. I do so much laundry, it all runs together in my mind. I'll be lucky if I remember to put it in the dryer or get it out and fold it. Usually there is an ad on TV later in the evening for some laundry product, so that reminds me and I leap up, saying, "Ooops! Laundry!" 

SiL said that after she took her mom out the other day, she guesses she wore her out. The people at the facility had her on 02 for the night and part of the next day because she was so out of it.  SiL says she was still acting very exhausted when she went to visit her this morning. Guess many of us have problems with elderly relatives.

I should quit babbling and get to it and do it..............

 

 

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I am taking the RSV vaccine to help protect my sister, whose immune system will be weakened, and we will likely spend time together. And my adult son who lives with us drives a school bus, which I think increases my risk of secondary exposure. I usually get my flu vaccine in October. The effectiveness tends to wane after a few months, and as a senior, I am at risk for Influenza B, which tends to circulate later, so I wait until October. And I get a stronger one, specifically for seniors. 

Dianah, I did a lot of CEs about immunizations at my old job, and  I highly recommend the Shingrex. The old shingles vaccine was about 50% effective, and the new one is about 90% effective and lasts longer. As someone who has had shingles, I can say you don't want them. 

[dianah, ASN]

nursej22 said:

 

Dianah, I did a lot of CEs about immunizations at my old job, and  I highly recommend the Shingrex. The old shingles vaccine was about 50% effective, and the new one is about 90% effective and lasts longer. As someone who has had shingles, I can say you don't want them. 

I very much appreciate your input!  and NO, I do NOT want shingles!!

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I took the latest shingles vaccine and the booster a while back and you might remember me saying that was the only vaccine I ever reacted negatively to.  I think some of the newer treatments for shingles is better than the old days when people really suffered.  I had a friend with it recently and he said it felt like a stinging but wasn't horrible.  Still, I'd rather not get it at all.  

Reminds me of a new study that links the shingles vaccine to lower dementia.  Taken with a grain of salt.  Apparently they are good studies.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/30/health/shingles-vaccines-dementia-studies/index.html

I wound up mowing and my battery died earlier than expected and it was fully charged.  I ordered a second one from Amazon so I'll be able to mow the weeds all at once instead of in stages when the battery dies.  There's a section I haven't gotten to in the back that no one sees that I didn't mow the last two times.  

 

[Ado Annie, ASN, RN]

Tweety, I hope your great-niece gets encouragement and support for her goals. I had all As in high school and impressive scores on the ACT and SAT. But we were spoon-fed through high school and I struggled with the transition to college-level courses. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was good at math. I was not good at programming but persisted to a degree in comp sci. And a romantic break-up left me depressed and floundering. But I'm a survivor and just kept going. Going back to school and studying nursing has been good for me. Too bad I had to get so much older first. 🙃

We have had over 5 inches of rain in the past 24-36 hours, most of it this morning. Around 8:00 my phone was dinging with texts about water in the server rooms at the hospital. Our IT manager got a wet-vac and got over 30 gallons out. I went over there but too late to be much help. Our facilities mgr just had surgery and will be out a few weeks. 

I am laughing at myself because Friday evening I had just about decided to give up on my little garden. But then I reconsidered and watered it. And then we got all this rain.

Now it will be hot again and be steamy.

It is time to think about what everyone is going to eat this week and go do some shopping. Ugh. 

It's too bad Hubs and I didn't follow through with the plan to stay at the hotel in the Price Tower (designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) for our anniversary. It hasn't made enough money and is closing. I hope they can manage to preserve the history. 

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

That's a lot of rain Ado.  Apparently some of our basement flooded last week when it rained so much.

I tried to mow some more but still didn't get finished as the battery takes a long time to charge.  Every time I mow I berate myself for letting it get so bad before mowing.  Ugh..saw lots of lizards, some humongous grasshoppers and a black snake,  which fortunately seemed afraid of me and slithered away.  I don't like snakes much.  

[nursej22, MSN, RN]

I'm freezing. The phone widget says 72 but it feels like 60. I cut my bike ride short this morning because of the wind, and I was getting cold. Weird for August. We watched some of the Olympics closing ceremony. It was quite a show. I enjoyed the orchestra playing La Marseillaise. I did some puttering in the garden. I finally cut the broccoli. I will steam some for dinner, and freeze the rest. Dh just left for the grocery store. I've been looking for stuff to get rid of. And shopping for a new toaster online. The old one is getting rather temperamental, and it takes up too much counter space. I have some time to kill tomorrow while sis is getting chemo, so there's a few stores I can look at. 

I have a box of corn muffin mix that I didn't use while camping, so maybe I'll whip that up for dinner too. 

We sure could use the rain, especially in the eastern part of the state. but not 5 inches. 

I had shingles on my scalp and face and close to my eye. And it burned! I knew what it was before I even got the blisters. Ds had it the entire length of one arm. I saw cases of disseminated shingles when I worked med-surg. Shudder. And I had a coworker who got it 2 years ago and still has post herpetic neuralgia. 

I really like our little battery powered mower we got last year or the year before. I can do the whole yard on one charge, and its really light weight.  I think it is EGO brand. dh got a blower and a string trimmer in the same brand. 

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I had shingles the year I was 18, under one of my shoulder blades and close to the ribs. It was itchy, but that's all I remember. The doctor said he couldn't give me anything for it. It was a mild case. Then later that year I got a severe case of mononucleosis, which lasted 3 months.

I got the first shingles shot when it first came out, and last year I got the most recent shingles shot. I've also had what I called the "RSVP" shot (a good way to remember it's name), and any and all flu vaccines, plus that pneumonia shot, the all the Covids, and I don't know what all else....but my pharmacist has it all on record, so they will let me know this fall when and what I need to get next. Some of 'em I had on the same days....sans any side-effects, thank goodness. Last time when I had 2 shots in one shoulder I had just a little bit of soreness, but it went away overnight, so, I'm one of the lucky ones.

Nannie and I are watching the show about Jim Hensen and The Muppets, and she has not asked me one single question through-out the whole show! No 'what did they say?', nothing about what they were doing, or who 'they' are/were. Amazing!

[Ado Annie, ASN, RN]

I had shingles at age 20, across my left hip and down my leg. It was pretty uncomfortable. I went to the campus infirmary and the doctor gave me aspirin with codeine. So I fell asleep in classes but was still in pain. Fortunately, it didn't last long. Post-herpetic neuralgia sounds miserable. Then at age 59 I had shingles again but was given an antiviral and it was very mild. I did get the vaccine after that.