Well, the week started out a bit rough but with 4 days off to end it, it turned around just fine. And I can't remember a time I was so productive day after day. All good.
Monday went just fine until after work. I went to the library for knitting but no one showed up. I knew Heidi wasn't going to be there but Drae was helping with harvest and had forgotten to call. Donna was staying home too. At least I got to pick up the money from the holiday sale to deposit later in the week and it was nice to be home early on a Monday night.
Fast forward to Tuesday morning. I'd slept well and was laying in bed listening to the radio for a bit when I felt something warm on my arm. Gansey had peed on me! I had just given her the last antibiotic for a UTI so it's hard to be mad at her. At least there was no blood in the pee. So I spent first thing Tuesday stripping my bed, doing laundry and hanging it all on the line before work. Sheesh!
We were having a bout of lovely warm weather, which worked for hanging the sheets out and I knew I would be spending Thanksgiving outside doing yard work. I was hoping we'd get out early on Wednesday so just in case I did all my errands at lunch. I got gas, hit the bread store for rolls, went to Menard's for my deck Christmas tree and a poinsettia for Mary as an office warming since she'd moved in that morning, ordered a burger at Honest Abe's then ran into Super Saver to buy a few things, picked up the burger, met Anne at her car to offload some yarn, delivered the plant to Mary and was back at my desk in 1-1/4 hours. How's that for slamming through a lunch hour?
Our new vice chancellor came in just before 3:00 and said he was surprised we were still there, adding that he couldn't tell us to leave but... We were all out the door within a minute of him leaving. After a quick stop at the library, I ran home and changed. It was warm enough that I worked in a t-shirt. I got the perennials in the parking cut down (I'd like to leave them but they act as a snow fence that piles snow on the sidewalk), undid the hoses and drained them then put up the deck tree. I was pretty pleased with my progress and had 4 more days to keep working.
I slept until 9:00 on Thanksgiving, which hosed my plan to make a nice breakfast. I had a bowl of Country Store, the cereal I bring back from the UK, so that felt special but was easy. My plan was to mow at some point but Carolyn made the point that I should mow early so I wouldn't be disturbing people's dinner. That was the kick in the butt I needed so I was done with the lawn, which I was just mowing to mulch the leaves, by noon. With that done, I threw a blackberry peach pie in the oven then started hanging laundry on the line to take advantage of another warm day. I then decided to repot all my African violets and pot up the rooted clippings Lori had given me months ago, which I did outside on the deck. With all that done, I made a small dinner with turkey thighs cooked over stuffing, baked sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts. I gave thanks for a wonderful day outside and with all the outside work done, made a list for the next 3 days.
I got busy inside on Friday, starting with cleaning out the chest under my kitchen window. From there I cleared the spool shelf by the door and then finished up the front room, storing all the yarn away and clearing the table. Each cleared surface spurred me on to do another. Now the plan was to go to Lori's for tea and knitting on Sunday after hitting World Market to finish my stocking shopping but the weather forecast wasn't looking good. I had to finish my shopping for sure so got in the car at 5:00 on Friday and headed to World Market, where I easily finished the stockings. I hit Aldi since I was right there and got home at 8:00, when I had a bowl of cereal and called it dinner. It had been another productive day.
I ran errands on Saturday - the bank, the eye doctor to pick out glasses, dropping pumpkins at Heidi's for her chickens and hitting Dollar General for, you guessed it, more totes. The forecast was turning out to be spot on. With blowing snow coming overnight and continuing all day Sunday, it was my last chance for outside work. Believe it or not, I still had perennials to plant so got those in the ground Saturday afternoon then headed down to the laundry room in search of my outdoor Christmas decorations. I started slogging through stuff and just kept going. 2 hours later, I'd neatzied the entire laundry room and had loaded the car with donations. The trash can was getting full too. Having found my decorations, I got all the outside stuff done - greens with balls and a bow on the front step and greens with fake poinsettias with lighted bells by the side door. I ate leftovers for supper and went to bed early, happy with another productive day. My list was mostly crossed off at this point but I had a few things left if the snow kept me home on Sunday.
There was snow on the ground and 40 mph winds when I woke up at 8:00 - another day of sleeping late. I made PB&J French toast and bacon and sat down to CBS Sunday morning. Lori had emailed that the roads weren't too bad on her way to mass so I left a message for Andrea that maybe we should go. But as the morning progressed, I saw that I-80 was closed and the weather people were saying not to leave the house. When Drae called back at 11:30, we decided we'd brave the drive anyway so I got in the shower and got dressed. Then Lori called to say we shouldn't come. She'd gone down the road for gas and it was miserable. So now I'd be home after all so I'd tackle the last few things on my list.
I had thoughts of making chutney but as the afternoon went on, I could see that that wouldn't happen. I headed back downstairs and did 2 more loads of laundry, some of which was stuff I'd uncovered when I'd been going through the laundry room. I also did some mending and ironing, went through some scrapbooking stuff to prepare for making calendar pages next Saturday and then I sorted all of my knitting needles, prompted by needing a size 5 and not being able to fine one. I put turkey stock on the stove and had more leftovers for dinner then settled in for the evening.
So how was that for maximizing my Thanksgiving break? I'm glad I declined Helen's invitation for dinner in favor of getting things done. With just one more full weekend before my trip, I'm feeling really good about things. I'm sure there will be some stress closer to leaving but not as much as if I hadn't been a machine these past four days. Life is good! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.
Sunday, November 25, 2018
Week 46 - A Little Progress
I'd made my list last week and started Monday morning hitting the grocery store and Home Depot before work. How's that for starting out on the right foot? Before the week was over, I'd booked all the hotels for the trip, arranged meet ups with 2 friends in London and had bought a new winter coat for the trip. Checking things off.
Work was busy and I did tons of HR stuff, which is always appreciated by the accountants I work with. We had a food day on Tuesday for Luke, one of the accountants who is leaving for a job at Central Administration. Then I had a date with Darla that night for thrifting and dinner. I was celebrating because I sold a huge skein of yarn, big enough to knit a whole sweater, that Darla had found for $5 years ago when we were thrifting. I sold it for $50 so dinner was on me. We chatted long after were were done eating our Mexican food at Tico's. So much for my diet.
I made up for it on Thursday when out of the blue, I had a bout of intestinal distress. It came on me when I was at lunch with Dodie so I ran back to the office and took Imodium. The cramping didn't stop immediately but by mid-afternoon, I was doing better. Normally I would have gone home but we were going to Bohemian Rhapsody after work to celebrate Anne's birthday and I really wanted to go so toughed it out. I'm glad I did. The movie was wonderful and I even had some popcorn. Afterwards, we went to the Birkenstock store and I bought a pair of shearling birks to wear as slippers. After we split up, I ran to JC Penney and found a new winter coat, which was long overdue. I got home at 9:00, tired but happy to be feeling OK and to have crossed another item off my list.
I was 3 pounds down when I weighed myself Friday morning. Ha! Layton and I went to Chinese for lunch and I swam after work so was showered and ready for the weekend. I took Gansey to the vet first thing Saturday morning then popped into the hair salon to see Lori, who was only in town long enough for her hair appointment. When I got home I started sorting yarn. I had been buying totes at Dollar General with $5 off $25 coupons so was ready to go. I started sorting but stopped when I lost the light in the front room. I'd had all day Sunday to finish.
Sunday was the St. Wenz cookie sale, which Andrea always reminds me of, so I was up and out first thing to hit the sale before mass got out. With 2 dozen cookies in hand, I went home to finish the yarn. It took way longer than it should have and it wasn't all put away but since I don't have a cleaning lady, I could leave the bins all over the front room without a problem. The having to clean myself sucks but not having to pick up can be a good thing.
I was pleased with what I'd gotten done but would be kicking it up a notch next week. With my Christmas deadline moved up 2 weeks, I had big plans for the 4 day Thanksgiving break. Four whole days - yee ha!
Work was busy and I did tons of HR stuff, which is always appreciated by the accountants I work with. We had a food day on Tuesday for Luke, one of the accountants who is leaving for a job at Central Administration. Then I had a date with Darla that night for thrifting and dinner. I was celebrating because I sold a huge skein of yarn, big enough to knit a whole sweater, that Darla had found for $5 years ago when we were thrifting. I sold it for $50 so dinner was on me. We chatted long after were were done eating our Mexican food at Tico's. So much for my diet.
I made up for it on Thursday when out of the blue, I had a bout of intestinal distress. It came on me when I was at lunch with Dodie so I ran back to the office and took Imodium. The cramping didn't stop immediately but by mid-afternoon, I was doing better. Normally I would have gone home but we were going to Bohemian Rhapsody after work to celebrate Anne's birthday and I really wanted to go so toughed it out. I'm glad I did. The movie was wonderful and I even had some popcorn. Afterwards, we went to the Birkenstock store and I bought a pair of shearling birks to wear as slippers. After we split up, I ran to JC Penney and found a new winter coat, which was long overdue. I got home at 9:00, tired but happy to be feeling OK and to have crossed another item off my list.
I was 3 pounds down when I weighed myself Friday morning. Ha! Layton and I went to Chinese for lunch and I swam after work so was showered and ready for the weekend. I took Gansey to the vet first thing Saturday morning then popped into the hair salon to see Lori, who was only in town long enough for her hair appointment. When I got home I started sorting yarn. I had been buying totes at Dollar General with $5 off $25 coupons so was ready to go. I started sorting but stopped when I lost the light in the front room. I'd had all day Sunday to finish.
Sunday was the St. Wenz cookie sale, which Andrea always reminds me of, so I was up and out first thing to hit the sale before mass got out. With 2 dozen cookies in hand, I went home to finish the yarn. It took way longer than it should have and it wasn't all put away but since I don't have a cleaning lady, I could leave the bins all over the front room without a problem. The having to clean myself sucks but not having to pick up can be a good thing.
I was pleased with what I'd gotten done but would be kicking it up a notch next week. With my Christmas deadline moved up 2 weeks, I had big plans for the 4 day Thanksgiving break. Four whole days - yee ha!
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
Week 45 - My November List
Having spent the previous weekend catching up from being away, I hit the road running, ready for a normal week. I was also ready to start chipping away at my November list, which was chock full of things to get done before my trip to Norway in December.
First up was offloading. I had culled a bunch of clothes when I switched out my summer for winter clothes so loaded bags into the car to drop at the Peoples City Mission, which I did over lunch on Tuesday. I also left a small bag of yarn hanging from Kate's side view mirror in the parking lot and gave Anne more yarn, some bought on the way home from Dottie's, at the pool on Wednesday. Getting rid of stuff feels SO good and it's even better when you make the recipient happy.
It was also election week and like the rest of the country, I was more than ready for it to be over. After voting on Tuesday, I planned to celebrate with pasta and wine so ran down to Trader Joe's at lunch on Monday to get some 3 buck chuck. With Nebraska polls open 8:00-8:00, I was voting after work so headed to the Presbyterian church directly from work. I had never seen such a line! Being Wahoo, I only had to wait 20 minutes and spent the time knitting, of course. Then it was home for pasta carbonara with leeks and big glass of wine. Yum! The results were disappointing, as usual in my red state, but at least the toxic ads were done.
I had knitting Monday night (just 2 of us), voted Tuesday, swam Wednesday, went to The Old Man and the Gun with Tammie after work on Thursday and swam again on Friday so it was a busy week. I was at the vet with Gansey (first thing off of my November list) at 9:30 Saturday morning and then drove through the bank on the way to meet Lorri for coffee to catch up. Then I picked up totes (yes, for yarn) at Dollar General before shopping some local merchants because it was Merry Market. While I didn't buy anything of note, it was pretty festive. The bone chilling cold (felt like single digit temps with the wind chill) actually helped. It felt good to get home and stay inside and warm for the rest of the weekend.
In addition to the usual chores, I had plans to cross off my next November item - evaluating stocking stuffers. Since I'll be leaving for my UK/Norway trip on December 9th and will fly directly to Rhode Island for Christmas, my Christmas deadlines are way sooner. In order to sort for stockings, I needed to slog through the spare room, hence the totes for yarn. I planned to do that Sunday afternoon, having done most of my chores by then, but Donna called asking to stop by with a knitting question. I was waiting to start and then she was later than she'd said so I was pretty short with her - so much so that Ed, her husband, could see my anxiety. I got her going and ushered them out the door so I could get busy and be "done" before I lost light.
I pulled a bunch of boxes and bags into the front room and started sorting yarn and craft supplies. With that done (but still all over the front room), I sorted the stocking stuffers for Carolyn and Ginny and was pleasantly surprised by how much I had. Ginny's easy and has plenty but Carolyn, who is much harder to buy for, has a decent amount. I will do some shopping this month to flesh that out. Doable so that was a relief.
I also started a rotation on Sunday, determined to lose 10 pounds before I leave for my trip. I made a big pot of cabbage soup in the morning and roasted a big pan of Brussels sprouts and carrots to go with baked chicken thighs for supper, which I'll eat all week. I will have some food obligations in the coming week but I'll just do what I can to make better choices and get right back to rotating. I MUST drop some poundage before my cruise and Christmas.
Isn't it amazing how motivated I can be by a deadline? It's always been the case for me and this time, it should keep my busy in November. Here's hoping I can stay on track.
First up was offloading. I had culled a bunch of clothes when I switched out my summer for winter clothes so loaded bags into the car to drop at the Peoples City Mission, which I did over lunch on Tuesday. I also left a small bag of yarn hanging from Kate's side view mirror in the parking lot and gave Anne more yarn, some bought on the way home from Dottie's, at the pool on Wednesday. Getting rid of stuff feels SO good and it's even better when you make the recipient happy.
It was also election week and like the rest of the country, I was more than ready for it to be over. After voting on Tuesday, I planned to celebrate with pasta and wine so ran down to Trader Joe's at lunch on Monday to get some 3 buck chuck. With Nebraska polls open 8:00-8:00, I was voting after work so headed to the Presbyterian church directly from work. I had never seen such a line! Being Wahoo, I only had to wait 20 minutes and spent the time knitting, of course. Then it was home for pasta carbonara with leeks and big glass of wine. Yum! The results were disappointing, as usual in my red state, but at least the toxic ads were done.
I had knitting Monday night (just 2 of us), voted Tuesday, swam Wednesday, went to The Old Man and the Gun with Tammie after work on Thursday and swam again on Friday so it was a busy week. I was at the vet with Gansey (first thing off of my November list) at 9:30 Saturday morning and then drove through the bank on the way to meet Lorri for coffee to catch up. Then I picked up totes (yes, for yarn) at Dollar General before shopping some local merchants because it was Merry Market. While I didn't buy anything of note, it was pretty festive. The bone chilling cold (felt like single digit temps with the wind chill) actually helped. It felt good to get home and stay inside and warm for the rest of the weekend.
In addition to the usual chores, I had plans to cross off my next November item - evaluating stocking stuffers. Since I'll be leaving for my UK/Norway trip on December 9th and will fly directly to Rhode Island for Christmas, my Christmas deadlines are way sooner. In order to sort for stockings, I needed to slog through the spare room, hence the totes for yarn. I planned to do that Sunday afternoon, having done most of my chores by then, but Donna called asking to stop by with a knitting question. I was waiting to start and then she was later than she'd said so I was pretty short with her - so much so that Ed, her husband, could see my anxiety. I got her going and ushered them out the door so I could get busy and be "done" before I lost light.
I pulled a bunch of boxes and bags into the front room and started sorting yarn and craft supplies. With that done (but still all over the front room), I sorted the stocking stuffers for Carolyn and Ginny and was pleasantly surprised by how much I had. Ginny's easy and has plenty but Carolyn, who is much harder to buy for, has a decent amount. I will do some shopping this month to flesh that out. Doable so that was a relief.
I also started a rotation on Sunday, determined to lose 10 pounds before I leave for my trip. I made a big pot of cabbage soup in the morning and roasted a big pan of Brussels sprouts and carrots to go with baked chicken thighs for supper, which I'll eat all week. I will have some food obligations in the coming week but I'll just do what I can to make better choices and get right back to rotating. I MUST drop some poundage before my cruise and Christmas.
Isn't it amazing how motivated I can be by a deadline? It's always been the case for me and this time, it should keep my busy in November. Here's hoping I can stay on track.
Monday, November 12, 2018
Week 44 - Happily Heading Home
Such a better week! Dottie was doing SO much better and I had home to look forward to.
Dottie had been using the calf machine less and less but called the doctor Monday morning and got the OK to not use it at all. She also got a prescription for tramadol to have something between an opioide and Advil. I had also gotten my cane out of the car so she had the walker downstairs and the cane upstairs, which made her more mobile and set her up to be alone once I left. Things were looking up! She had PT on Monday and Tuesday (to get 2 in before I left) and we had some fun sorting yarn and streaming. Her neighbor came over for a visit and we chatted for hours. She even went to the museum to do some research one afternoon (Thomas dropped her off and I picked her up so had some time on my own.) See? Looking up.
On Tuesday, I took advantage of the last trip to Michigan City to hit the beach. It was a beautiful day so I enjoyed sitting and knitting with Starbuck's. I spent some time later looking up the Goodwills on the way home so I'd have places to stop along the way.
I had the opposite problem heading home than coming - I had to leave late enough to miss Chicago traffic so Wednesday would be a long day. After saying goodbye, I was on the road ~9:30 and did indeed time it right so the traffic was fine. I had 3 Goodwills mapped out so stopped at those along the way then in Davenport. I didn't find much but it was fun to have places to stop. After Davenport, I pretty much drove straight through except for a rest stop or 2 and a gas stop. I got home just after 8:00 so missed Halloween nicely. I unpacked and went to bed early because I was working on Thursday.
The work week flew by (a 2 day week will do that) and after water aerobics on Friday, I was home for the weekend. I so felt the need catch up. Hmmm... I wonder why? Anyway, I had a nice weekend at home doing chores and cooking. I celebrated fall with a pot of homemade baked beans, baked a squash while the oven was on so long and then made pie to take to knitting. By the end of the weekend I was feeling restored and ready to face a full work week. Dottie was still doing better everyday and would be seeing the surgeon on Monday so I felt good about having helped on that front. Back to reality now.
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Week 43 - Heading to Dottie
It was finally the week for Dottie's knee replacement, which was scheduled for Wednesday so I'd be driving there on Thursday. That left me with a 3 day work week, which you'd think would be a breeze but not so much.
It wasn't looking horribly stressful but I was doing allocations and there were lots of problems. I also had training scheduled both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, which cut into my productivity. I did manage a nice lunch with Darla on Tuesday but by Wednesday morning I was stressed.
Pie didn't come in Monday night and Tuesday morning I saw that her mouth was stuck open again. She didn't come in Tuesday night so between that and worrying about my sister and the trip, I didn't sleep well at all. I did manage to get Pie's mouth shut Wednesday before work - big relief! Once I got to work, I was slamming to get allocations done so they weren't left for Nora when I was gone. I was waiting for an update from my brother-in-law but wasn't getting a call so had nagging worry on that front. At one point Nora came over and was going on and on about something or other and I had to tell her that if I didn't get some time to concentrate and get allocations done I might cry. She left me alone to get them done, which I did, and then I called my nephew and heard that Dottie was OK. With all that resolved, my stress melted away but that left me exhausted. Nora had said I could leave early so I worked through lunch to get a few last things done and left at 3:00.
Having that extra time was lovely. My plan was to be on the road by 6:30 on Thursday so I would be through Chicago before rush hour, which meant I needed to get to bed early. I packed over the course of the evening and got the car loaded before heading to bed. I even got Pie to come inside, which she rarely does, so I was all set for my early departure.
It was pitch black and raining Thursday morning so I ate a quick breakfast, filled my thermos and loaded the last stuff into the car. I was ready to go but thought I'd left my jacket in the house. Well, when I opened the door to get it, Pie shot outside. Damn! There'd be no catching her so I put some food on the deck, put a jar of extra food in the grill and headed out. Lorri was taking care of the inside cats but that wouldn't require daily trips so I'd call my neighbor when I got to Indiana to have her feed Pie everyday. Sheesh!
The drive was uneventful. I drove out of the rain (it was behind me all the way, I'm sure) and other than stopping for gas and potty breaks at rest stops, I drove straight through. I listened to NPR through most of Iowa then put in the book on tape I'd bought for the ride - Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's not his best book but still kept me engaged for hours. I got to Dottie's at 3:30.
Dottie was sitting in a chair in her nightie with a machine hooked up to her legs that was supposed to prevent blood clots. There was also an ice thing involved. She did not look happy. We ordered Chinese and she ate in her chair. They all go to bed early (Mike works in eastern time so has to be on the road super early since he has an hour drive and loses an hour) so we headed upstairs not long after dinner. I'd wisely brought my laptop so sat on my bed streaming and knitting until my bedtime. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Ha!
I had been asleep for about 2 hours when I heard my sister calling for help. I went into her bedroom to find her on her butt on the floor. Her husband was nowhere to be found. She couldn't get up so had to scooch on her butt ~20 feet to the stairs to stand up. That was hard to watch. Hard that time and hard 2 hours later when she slid out of bed again. This time she was still half on the bed when I got in there but I couldn't pull her up and she wasn't putting her feet under her at all. It happened a 3rd time but Mike was up by then so he took charge. Clearly something had to change if I was going to get any sleep.
We had a talk in the morning. Now I had a 4 hour orientation before my surgery but she clearly had gotten no information before hers. I gave her the details of what they'd done and why it wouldn't be a problem to put weight on her new knee and why she was swollen and bruised. I think that helped a lot, as did taking a shower and getting dressed. She was still cranky as all get out about the machine on her legs but I couldn't help with that. We had a pleasant day sitting in the sun and watching TV then she sat at the table for dinner. Progress. She had decided not to wear the machine to bed so there were no incidents in the night. I slept great.
Dottie's first PT was Friday afternoon, which was also her first time leaving home since her surgery. Her PT was 20 minutes away in Michigan City so I dropped her off and hit the Aldi next door then explored Michigan City a bit. It being her first session, it was only an hour and she was exhausted (rightly so) so we went straight home. I made dinner and it was another early bedtime for everyone while I streamed and knitted in bed.
Dottie was getting markedly better with each passing day and the rest of the weekend was pleasant. I needed a couple of things at the market so headed out and hit the Ollie's next door, which is very like RI's Job Lot. Since I had my car, I bought quite a bit, even a little metal garden table. After some lunch, Dottie had a mailing to get out for her preservation group so we spent the afternoon stuffing envelopes for hours. Seeing her do normal things was nice and we got it done and ready to drop at the post office.
Otherwise, the weekend didn't feel much different from mine at home except I was doing her chores instead of mine. With 3 people, there was 3 times the laundry (6 loads!) and lots and lots of cooking. She had planned to cook some food ahead but said she'd overestimated her ability to function when she couldn't take drugs the week before her surgery so hadn't done much prep. One of Mike's clients had given him a HUGE cabbage so I made it my mission to use it up. I made cabbage casserole and 2 batches of cranberry cole slaw plus corn chowder, tortilla casserole and pork chops, that last being their style rather than mine.
Anyway, I was super busy getting everything done but still had time to knit so it was all good. Seeing the improvement in Dottie's mood and ability to move was the icing on the cake. Plus I only had 2 more days of sister duty before I'd drive home on Wednesday for another short work week. I was looking forward to being home.
It wasn't looking horribly stressful but I was doing allocations and there were lots of problems. I also had training scheduled both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, which cut into my productivity. I did manage a nice lunch with Darla on Tuesday but by Wednesday morning I was stressed.
Pie didn't come in Monday night and Tuesday morning I saw that her mouth was stuck open again. She didn't come in Tuesday night so between that and worrying about my sister and the trip, I didn't sleep well at all. I did manage to get Pie's mouth shut Wednesday before work - big relief! Once I got to work, I was slamming to get allocations done so they weren't left for Nora when I was gone. I was waiting for an update from my brother-in-law but wasn't getting a call so had nagging worry on that front. At one point Nora came over and was going on and on about something or other and I had to tell her that if I didn't get some time to concentrate and get allocations done I might cry. She left me alone to get them done, which I did, and then I called my nephew and heard that Dottie was OK. With all that resolved, my stress melted away but that left me exhausted. Nora had said I could leave early so I worked through lunch to get a few last things done and left at 3:00.
Having that extra time was lovely. My plan was to be on the road by 6:30 on Thursday so I would be through Chicago before rush hour, which meant I needed to get to bed early. I packed over the course of the evening and got the car loaded before heading to bed. I even got Pie to come inside, which she rarely does, so I was all set for my early departure.
It was pitch black and raining Thursday morning so I ate a quick breakfast, filled my thermos and loaded the last stuff into the car. I was ready to go but thought I'd left my jacket in the house. Well, when I opened the door to get it, Pie shot outside. Damn! There'd be no catching her so I put some food on the deck, put a jar of extra food in the grill and headed out. Lorri was taking care of the inside cats but that wouldn't require daily trips so I'd call my neighbor when I got to Indiana to have her feed Pie everyday. Sheesh!
The drive was uneventful. I drove out of the rain (it was behind me all the way, I'm sure) and other than stopping for gas and potty breaks at rest stops, I drove straight through. I listened to NPR through most of Iowa then put in the book on tape I'd bought for the ride - Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. It's not his best book but still kept me engaged for hours. I got to Dottie's at 3:30.
Dottie was sitting in a chair in her nightie with a machine hooked up to her legs that was supposed to prevent blood clots. There was also an ice thing involved. She did not look happy. We ordered Chinese and she ate in her chair. They all go to bed early (Mike works in eastern time so has to be on the road super early since he has an hour drive and loses an hour) so we headed upstairs not long after dinner. I'd wisely brought my laptop so sat on my bed streaming and knitting until my bedtime. I was looking forward to a good night's sleep. Ha!
I had been asleep for about 2 hours when I heard my sister calling for help. I went into her bedroom to find her on her butt on the floor. Her husband was nowhere to be found. She couldn't get up so had to scooch on her butt ~20 feet to the stairs to stand up. That was hard to watch. Hard that time and hard 2 hours later when she slid out of bed again. This time she was still half on the bed when I got in there but I couldn't pull her up and she wasn't putting her feet under her at all. It happened a 3rd time but Mike was up by then so he took charge. Clearly something had to change if I was going to get any sleep.
We had a talk in the morning. Now I had a 4 hour orientation before my surgery but she clearly had gotten no information before hers. I gave her the details of what they'd done and why it wouldn't be a problem to put weight on her new knee and why she was swollen and bruised. I think that helped a lot, as did taking a shower and getting dressed. She was still cranky as all get out about the machine on her legs but I couldn't help with that. We had a pleasant day sitting in the sun and watching TV then she sat at the table for dinner. Progress. She had decided not to wear the machine to bed so there were no incidents in the night. I slept great.
Dottie's first PT was Friday afternoon, which was also her first time leaving home since her surgery. Her PT was 20 minutes away in Michigan City so I dropped her off and hit the Aldi next door then explored Michigan City a bit. It being her first session, it was only an hour and she was exhausted (rightly so) so we went straight home. I made dinner and it was another early bedtime for everyone while I streamed and knitted in bed.
Otherwise, the weekend didn't feel much different from mine at home except I was doing her chores instead of mine. With 3 people, there was 3 times the laundry (6 loads!) and lots and lots of cooking. She had planned to cook some food ahead but said she'd overestimated her ability to function when she couldn't take drugs the week before her surgery so hadn't done much prep. One of Mike's clients had given him a HUGE cabbage so I made it my mission to use it up. I made cabbage casserole and 2 batches of cranberry cole slaw plus corn chowder, tortilla casserole and pork chops, that last being their style rather than mine.
Anyway, I was super busy getting everything done but still had time to knit so it was all good. Seeing the improvement in Dottie's mood and ability to move was the icing on the cake. Plus I only had 2 more days of sister duty before I'd drive home on Wednesday for another short work week. I was looking forward to being home.
Monday, November 5, 2018
Week 42 - I've Had Better
This was not a banner week. It was filled with things that didn't go quite right, including some work stress that had me wide awake one night. A nice weekend salvaged it though.
On Monday night, I got stood up at knitting. Most of the regulars have stopped coming but Andrea and I are always there. I knew Heidi (the other regular) wasn't coming but Andrea didn't show either. After I'd been knitting alone for half an hour, I called her and she was home sick. Damn! Hopefully next time she'll call and let me know. It was nice to be home by 7:00 but it would have been nicer to not have gone.
Tuesday was my rescheduled doctor's appointment so I started the day with a fasting blood draw at the new student health center. It was fall break so the place was deserted but it was under new management so took way too long. Not only did I have to fill out all kinds of paperwork but they wouldn't submit it to my insurance so I had to pay. It was still much cheaper than my doctor would charge but the 10 minutes and done of the old health center is no more.
The good thing about Tuesday was my new doctor. They finally hired a woman and I happily scheduled with her in hopes that I'd like her. I was thrilled with her! How often can you say that? She was reasonable, nice and thorough. She even called me back herself after my appointment and left me voice mail instead of asking me to call back. Hallelujah! It was nice to be home early too. Little did I know I'd need my rest.
Some crap percolated at work on Wednesday and I stewed on it all night instead of sleeping. We had a team meeting on Thursday morning and worked things out but sheesh! If only I could stop the middle of the night stewing. Probably won't happen. I thrifted at lunch and then got busy with allocations, which took all day on Friday and kept the time flying.
Despite it being my last weekend before leaving for Indiana, I had agreed to go to an auction with Andrea on Saturday. There was nothing I wanted but auctions are always entertaining. I chatted with my cousin's brother-in-law, who I haven't seen in years, Andrea got the spinning wheel she wanted and I only spent $3. Afterwards we went to Goodwill, where I dropped the entire box less the single item I wanted for one of the lots I won, and then had sushi. It was mid afternoon so it messed up dinner but I had a light Saturday snack supper and called it good.
Sunday was chore day, which included getting things ready to be gone. Get a load of the stack of yarn I'd be delivering to Dottie! It's a year's worth of thrift shop finds and 2 boxes from Anne. I'd be driving to Dottie's on Thursday so had a few extra things on my list. I made good progress and felt good about my day by the time I sat down to PBS. Just work days to go.
On Monday night, I got stood up at knitting. Most of the regulars have stopped coming but Andrea and I are always there. I knew Heidi (the other regular) wasn't coming but Andrea didn't show either. After I'd been knitting alone for half an hour, I called her and she was home sick. Damn! Hopefully next time she'll call and let me know. It was nice to be home by 7:00 but it would have been nicer to not have gone.
Tuesday was my rescheduled doctor's appointment so I started the day with a fasting blood draw at the new student health center. It was fall break so the place was deserted but it was under new management so took way too long. Not only did I have to fill out all kinds of paperwork but they wouldn't submit it to my insurance so I had to pay. It was still much cheaper than my doctor would charge but the 10 minutes and done of the old health center is no more.
The good thing about Tuesday was my new doctor. They finally hired a woman and I happily scheduled with her in hopes that I'd like her. I was thrilled with her! How often can you say that? She was reasonable, nice and thorough. She even called me back herself after my appointment and left me voice mail instead of asking me to call back. Hallelujah! It was nice to be home early too. Little did I know I'd need my rest.
Some crap percolated at work on Wednesday and I stewed on it all night instead of sleeping. We had a team meeting on Thursday morning and worked things out but sheesh! If only I could stop the middle of the night stewing. Probably won't happen. I thrifted at lunch and then got busy with allocations, which took all day on Friday and kept the time flying.
Despite it being my last weekend before leaving for Indiana, I had agreed to go to an auction with Andrea on Saturday. There was nothing I wanted but auctions are always entertaining. I chatted with my cousin's brother-in-law, who I haven't seen in years, Andrea got the spinning wheel she wanted and I only spent $3. Afterwards we went to Goodwill, where I dropped the entire box less the single item I wanted for one of the lots I won, and then had sushi. It was mid afternoon so it messed up dinner but I had a light Saturday snack supper and called it good.
Sunday was chore day, which included getting things ready to be gone. Get a load of the stack of yarn I'd be delivering to Dottie! It's a year's worth of thrift shop finds and 2 boxes from Anne. I'd be driving to Dottie's on Thursday so had a few extra things on my list. I made good progress and felt good about my day by the time I sat down to PBS. Just work days to go.
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