Thursday December 14th 2023

G'day. 

At work having an okay day.  

I made cookies only once, some vegan pumpkin cookies for Thanksgiving.  Many years ago.  Haven't made them since.  I am not a good baker.

It's 70 here.  Supposed to rain this weekend

H0-H0-H0, and rum-pum-pum-pum! ~ This greeting is brought to you by the fast approaching Christmas-time! 

I have not shopped, nor have I wrapped. Just waiting for 2024 to begin. Hoping it will be a MUCH better year. Not anticipating, just hoping.

If I knew how, I could send y'all a video of Nannie, with her eyes closed, diligently sewing nothing in the air in front of her. The invisible needle has a long thread, because she pulls it up to the length of her arm before putting it back into the invisible object which she is sewing.

Momo is being a total hussy, showing me her belly and kicking at my elbow with her hind legs and paws. I don't mind loving on her, but she thinks I shouldn't stop for about 37 years, and my arm does get tired after a while.

I need to hustle out to Wally-World to pick up a refill and the usual things I always run out of first: yogurt, cran-apple juice, quick-dissolving Ex Str Tylenol, dog food, milk, and HUBBA-BUBBA Bubblegum! I save the gum until late evening so I can snap and pop bubbles in an obnoxious manner....my 'secret' disgusting (to others) habit. I may look for a smallish oscillating heater for the den, which doesn't get too warm in the Winter. We have a heat-pump and the configuration of the rooms with their vents gives uneven heating in this house. If I want the den to be cozy, it requires turning the thermostat to 74, which in my humble opinion is toooooo high to keep it set at all day. We used to have a small elec. heater in here, until it died, and was never replaced. We can wear sufficient sweaters and/or lap-blankets and keep the thermostat lower, because we don't want to pay for what it would take to make the house actually warm. But for the days when that won't suffice, that little heater is a welcome addition. 

I do need to get some Winter-ish slippers and/or shoes because my feet get cold on this floor, and the crappy large area rug doesn't keep the cold from radiating up into the foot-wear I always wear....a non-croc, but similar type of footwear. They are the most comfortable and never make my knees ache when I wear them. The 'wrong' shoes, even with my podiatrist made arch supports, just don't cut it, which is why I wear Summer shoes in this cold weather. And one of the things I HATE to shop for is shoes!

Blah-dee-blah-blah. Wish I was not such a procrastinator; I wish I could just go full-tilt-boogie and plow into all my on-hold tasks, but, but, but, can't do that. So I just sit and wait for those moments to occur, when I am able to bite off a chunk of things and not have to stop to do something else, that has nothing to do with what I WANT to get done.

Am I pitiful, or what? I know, I know, hire someone from an agency, which Nannie can pay for, so I can go about my business at will. It is BECAUSE I used to work Home Health, seeing the people they sent for other shifts is what has made me feel rather dubious about having someone else here. Not that I think that I am the only one who can do this, but I have seen so many personnel that patients have to just tolerate. Yeah, so maybe I am a bit of a snot or a snob? I dunno. I have encountered aides who nosily poke around in others belongings,  some who steal things, and others that sleep when they shouldn't, or impose their will on their patients because they know 'best'. I know other folks also feel this way, because I have heard it from so many of my patients, before I retired. Kind of stepping on my own toes, I guess. Oh well. Not asking for help, just venting frustrations.

Guess I'll just sign off here and dash to Walmart---

Ya know what? I just decided I can squeak through until tomorrow before I go out to the store. I have just enough of the things I was going to re-stock, to carry us through the rest of today. And I will get up earlier tomorrow to take care of my errands, because I will set my alarm clock and NOT turn it off in the middle of the night! Going out now, with 'shift-change' and school letting out, just begs for traffic to be a problem. I love it when a problem works itself out! 

Tweety, that Asian food looks good. When we were getting Hello Fresh meals to cook sometimes the results would look that good. I did really like the Korean BBQ bowls. 

Work has been a wild place this week. Not sure why but each day has had something disruptive. We did have a homeless patient who really had nothing -- no Winter clothing. Hubs donated a coat/hat/gloves he doesn't use and I went and bought some underwear and socks. He was very appreciative. I had arranged for some pants/shirts from a church's clothes closet, toiletries and a backpack from a couple of other hospital employees but when I got in this morning he had already been discharged. The telemed doctor that never rounds early did his rounds early today. So we are going to set up an area and keep a few things around for situations like this. It doesn't happen often but when it does it is good to be able to help. At the old hospital, we had some shelves tucked away that we'd have a few clothing items for when patients were being discharged and didn't have things to wear home.

Hubs was putting up Christmas lights when I went home to grab some leftover pizza for lunch. 

I love to bake (and eat the results). At Christmas time I usually make the things my mom always made (pecan tarts, a cake using candy orange slices, and date pinwheel cookies) but I want to try some new things. I was browsing recipes online last night but didn't see anything I just have to try. 

Hi. Gray and rainy, although I got out for a jog and a dog walk between showers. Youngest ds called  from work asking me about pink eye, and a sore throat. He went to a walk-in clinic, where they did a strep test (but not Covid) and gave him an RX for antibiotic eye drops. He did a covid test when he got home, which was negative. And yeah, his eye looks terrible: swollen, red and goopy (technical term, LOL). And last night he said his ear hurt. 

I am a competent baker, but some of those recipes that dh wanted to try were so involved, and then didn't make many cookies. When I'm going for volume, I like the plop 'em out kind and I use an ice cream scoop. We did find a couple of new recipes we liked: a peanut butter oatmeal, chocolate with peppermint chips, and a molasses cookie with candied ginger. 

Tonight I am putting a pre-made quiche in the oven and we'll mix up a salad kit from Costco. 

Tomorrow I'm going with dh to the food bank to help sort food. They got a big donation from the fire department food drive, so asked for a few extra hands. 

When my dad was alive, sis hired a home health person to come in, and basically all she did was watch TV with him, and drive him to get his hair cut. She was supposed to do "light housework" and it was so light it was nondetectable. And she would cook for him, but he waited til she left and then threw it out. I think he liked the companionship, but I otherwise did the house work and would have appreciated a little help. 

Watching HGTV, and Nannie and I decided that Thursday evening is the night that they show all the really cranky people (one woman said, "it doesn't have everything I want, and I want EVERYTHING!") and the disagreeing couples. But, it's either this or those detective/murder shows. She can't follow movies. She also, though, can't seem to be able to tell when the commercials come on, and since I always mute out commercials, she gets confused....she's trying to connect the people on show and the commercials actors, like it is are all related. Then there are those times when she thinks WE are involved with what's going on, on TV. I sometimes have to explain everything to her; it is very sad how she has 'disintegrated' mentally.

The other day when I went out to the store, when I came back she told me about "all these women who came in here and went in there" (her bedroom which she never remembers is her bedroom.) but she didn't know what they were there for; but "there were 6 or 7 women bringing things in, and they had a LOT of pairs of shoes they spread out on the floor..." She said they did pick everything up before they left.. OMG she is ranging far and wide, while turning in little circles in her jumbled brain! Whoa Nellie!

Now she is telling me about being the real estate agent, and how she would point out certain things about each home,......blah, blah...I should record her!

I sometimes bump my heat up to 76 but try not to.  Usually it's 74 and I know for people up north that's crazy hot but it's still chilly in here to me.  I turn it down to 72 when I'm not hear.  Yesterday I forgot to turn it back up and woke up chilly but thought "hey I managed and need to try to keep my bill down".  Utilities here went up about $50 a month.

We have an area for clothes for the homeless but not a lot.  Often the ER sends them out with paper scrubs because EMS cut off their clothes.  Once I pitched such a fit to the VP about discharging a homeless patient in the cold with no jacket and no shoes when we flighted him in from out of town as a trauma.  I asked "how can we sleep at night doing this?".  They set up a program where we would buy them a bus ticket back to the town they were from.  He mentioned that "He told me about myself" when presenting me with my "Nurse of the Year Award" way back in 2009.  I feel bad for them, but many of them have disability and other checks deposited into their banks and a bank card.  We see them with "chest pain" when their checks run out.  Crazy times.

Stars, wouldn't hiring someone for Nannie to pay for require approval and payment from the Guardian?  My sister is like that though and won't let outside agencies in to help her.  They were having in-home physical therapy when she broke her arm.  We gave up trying to get them to hire help.  Mom doesn't want "a stranger to come into the house".  They are very suspicious.  Plus there are lazy people out there.

One of the night techs got her free Christmas meal and walked out.  The staff was worried about her that she might be sick or fainted somewhere but security looked at footage of her getting her food and walking out.  Didn't answer her phone and was a no-call no-show last night for her shift.  Guess another Gen Z bites the dust because it doesn't suit her journey that day.  What's frustrating is management called her to find out what happened and asked if she were still coming in, rather than "that's an offense that is getting you fired, don't come in again".  I had to wait until she no showed to call someone to come in and help.

BiL is guardian, but having been in the hospital, he has fallen behind a little. I just paid two of Nannie's bills from her checking account, as they were due and I haven't turned over her checkbook to him because we haven't yet gone to the bank together to get names on checking, etc, changed to him and Nannie. It'll happen this next week, I suppose.

As Guardian, he (and SiL) will figure out about hiring help; also mentioned I can eventually get paid for care-giving through some program. But, they have to apply for it, for me. It's all slo-mo, y'know.

No Stars In My Eyes said:

As Guardian, he (and SiL) will figure out about hiring help; also mentioned I can eventually get paid for care-giving through some program. But, they have to apply for it, for me. It's all slo-mo, y'know.

I have seen this work out on Judge Judy --- of course not a reliable source.  You get paid for all the hours you are with her and then Nannie can pay the volunteers who have  to care for Nannie during the hours you have to be away.

Do you have a not for profit senior citizen senior center (what ever the name) near you? or private message me where you live.

Not for profit senior citizen senior centers are there for you and Nannie. No cost to you. I found them very helpful when working with some medication issues with my MIL when she moved in with us. Plus I have attended some programs they offer. I have frequent falls with resulting breaks. I went to a fall prevention program. I learned so much and connected with others my age. It was a rewarding experience. (And no falls yet)

These not -for-profit senior citizen senior centers exist to keep seniors in their homes. It is not just 'meals on wheels' although Nannie may qualify for that. 

Right now we have the biggest population of 'baby boomers' moving into retirement (and those 'baby boomers' boosted the biggest economy in US history despite what some people say. .) Take advantage of the services.

Best wishes as always..