The New Water Cooler
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I am dragging today. I feel fatigued. I went to aqua fit this morning and then sat in the hot tub. I volunteered at Power Books this afternoon putting stickers "This book belongs to ___" in books that have just arrived. These stickers are for the kids to put their name in the book when they choose it. As I was stickering books, I heard lots of sirens in town. Very unusual to hear sirens around here. When I left to go home I was not allowed to get to our private road due to a road block. Somewhere up the highway from us there was a house fire. They blocked off the highway for quite awhile. I ended up parking at the beach park and reading my book until they lifted the blocks.
We had a nice dinner with Tim and Sue and a visit at our house eating the cherry pie. They have been sight seeing around the area and leave tomorrow for Mackinac Island and Sault St. Marie in the Upper Peninsula of MI.
I'm sorry Z is not being social and spending time with you and that your Mother's Day wasn't very special. Do you think he is depressed about something or just very tired and stressed out with college and what is expected of him next?
The boys tend to call me on Mother's Day but I don't get gifts from them. It was unusual that Russ gave me a card and the photo frame. We don't usually exchange gifts and never on Mother or Father's Day. Karah and Jeff did send me a hot pad and Christmas ornament that Miles made with his hand prints.
I have a dull headache so I am going to sign off. I need a good night's sleep, I think.
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I went to aqua fit with my cousin this morning. Came home and showered and then Russ and I went to an event at our great niece's montessori school. It was a "Stone Soup" (children's book) fundraiser for a new playground. Ticket was $10 and this bought a bowl of soup, home made bread, muffin and/or brownie. The soup I had was made by a local restaurant and was really good. We ate outside on their grounds. They had a bonfire, band singing children's songs, face painting, hiking on their trails in the woods, and a tree planting. We stayed for about an hour. Both my sisters bought tickets, but neither showed up for the event. I'm sure they were home sleeping in their recliners at 3:30pm.
Tomorrow I will go to aqua fit, go to a local nursery with my sister to pick out cemetery plants for our shepherd's hooks, and then it is girl's night again with one cousin, both sisters and possibly my niece. We are going to a farm to table restaurant near our house that is really good. You can eat outside on the grounds or inside. The food is based on what crops are ready to harvest and eat. Russ doesn't want to go with us. He likes his quiet time at home rather than listening to my sister's, cousin and I talk about stuff he doesn't relate to. It will be another opportunity to observe Becky, my middle sister, and see how she acts.
Is C done this week after exams? Is he staying in Lincoln or coming home this summer?
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The soup fundraiser sounds like a good time, good food and good idea.
Hopefully after a good sleep you are over the headache.
Caleb isn’t done until Friday and says he is moving out Saturday. I guess coming home. For how long I don’t know. Hopefully we can talk when he gets home.
I got Zach to be awake this afternoon and talked to him a bit. I stated some things I expect (being up during the day, working on job search, working on a budget, stuff like that).
He finally sent me his resume and I am going to tweak its format some. The content is fine but I can make it look better. I wish he would have sent it to me sooner, I’m guessing it wasn’t done last summer.
Hey hey hump day0 -
Progress with Z, wonderful! Where would C go if he didn't live at home? Do either of the boys have summer employment or is it hard to find in your area?
My oldest sister, Lynn, and I are going to a nursery today to pick out hanging flowers for our family graves. She is scheduled for hip replacement surgery next Tuesday so I don't know how this is going to go. She is in a lot of pain but wants to do this. She wants to get out but also can't leave this solely up to me. Tonight we go out to dinner too so long day for her.
I skipped aquafit this morning to slowly enter my day, have my coffee and breakfast, shower and get ready to meet Lynn for our expedition. The sun is trying to shine so it may be a beautiful day.
Russ went in to Traverse City to Home Depot very early. He is working on the back deck and getting ready to build the railing that didn't get done last summer.
I put out my Hummingbird feeders and our little friend Roscoe has returned. We like to think it is the same group of Hummingbirds that return every year. Roscoe was the first, but of course, we can't truly identify him, LOL!
One more day of work and then the weekend! Any special plans?0 -
I feel better after finally getting to talk to Zach a bit. I feel positive working on his resume. I am hopeful this leads to him putting work on his end to getting some resumes out. Of course the timing isn't great as many of the jobs I had been seeing weeks ago aren't posted anymore.
I am not sure what Caleb is going to do besides the online classes. He had originally made noises about staying in Lincoln all summer because he 'wasn't coming back.' I guess that's mainly why I am a bit surprised. I don't care, but it's this weird non-communicative thing that bugs me. There are plenty of jobs in Columbus depending on what you are willing to do. Not sure if Caleb will work or what his intentions are.
I hope things went well with your outing.
Hey hey almost Friday.0 -
Ugh. What a day. At least it’s Friyay.0
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My friend Kathy and I went to the Amish Auction, Flea and Craft Show down state yesterday. It was a two hour drive in the rain but when we got there, the rain had stopped and we only had occasional sprinkles until we were leaving. Lucky! We walked the entire thing row by row (3.84 miles), had lunch from a rib and chicken booth and looked for treasures. Neither of us saw anything we had to have. We both bought Amish baked goods from the bakery tent (pumpkin roll, molasses cookies, cinnamon rolls) to take home. She bought her son a tshirt and we bought some home made ice cream as a treat on the way to the car. Next weekend we are going just south of us to a "Junk" sale which is refurbished furniture and other items. Kathy and her husband have been dealing with a lot of stress due to his Dad and his dementia. Cherry season is beginning and that leads in to apple season and their farm takes a lot of time from April through October. Kathy has decided she needs to have more fun when possible so she has been willing to go on these expeditions.
Well, I hope you get some quality time with boys Z and C this summer. Do you think Z wants to find a career in NE or is he open to going wherever the job is in the country? It sounds like C is feeling the independence of living away from home. I remember that feeling and enjoyed when I could stay in East Lansing at Michigan State University in the summers. I would go home for occasional weekends but liked the apartment life with a room mate. My Mom wasn't happy I didn't come home though.
Today is laziness unless the rain stops and I begin to put compost in my garden containers. We may go out to eat since tourist season is still light. Next weekend begins the season.
This next week will be busy. My sister has her hip replacement surgery on Tuesday. I will drive her, wait, and bring her home. My cousin and I will take turns staying with her through the first 3 nights and I will drive her to her first PT session next Friday. I hope this alleviates some of her body pain. She is in bad shape!
Have a relaxing weekend. Are you able to spend time with flowers and plants outside yet? I am ready but weather is not cooperating here.0 -
They got Caleb moved home on Friday afternoon. I think Caleb planned on sleeping more Friday (after being up multiple nights studying), but Bernie decided to go and move him Friday. Caleb wasn't pleased about not getting to sleep, but was pleased he made it through Calc 2 by a .03 (the most re-taken class on campus) and didn't get 'sorted' out of CompSci. He is still in the Software Engineering program. He is pleased. He said he was a bit shocked by how much harder everything is, but it's kind of triggering his stubborness and gets him revved up to prove he can do it. I hope that continues. Sophomore year is still known to sort, so he's still going to need that grit. He said he basically 'hates' the business majors because they are always outside playing volleyball or basketball, when he's inside working. He said he spent a minimum of 50 hours a week just on his CompSci work. Wow. He has two classes he's planning on taking, sounds like they are online though. I think he came home because he just because he needs to reboot and recover. My guess is in about two weeks he'll be bored.
I told Zach to tell Bernie that he wanted to golf - (which he has wanted to) and the weather was great this weekend so they did that Sunday. He is still waffling on job hunting. I should just back off, but am getting annoyed. He needs to put out three to five resumes this week I think.
Your weekend sounds fun.
I have had what I think are swollen lymph nodes in the side of my neck for a few weeks, I haven't been sick, but they aren't going down and it's starting to become something I am noticing constantly. I think maybe I should go in. We'll see what they say.
Another week - and yikes - closer to the shower that I'm not ready for.0 -
Huh. The clinic got me set up for a neck ultrasound, fasting labs AND an appointment with the doctor all this week. That kind of makes me feel...... more anxious. Because we all know most of the time getting appointments takes more than a week unless it's something important. Excellent. My track record is gaining momentum. Well, at least I have met my deductible.0
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I'm glad C is home and can recover. It sounds like he had quite a hard year studying and keeping his grades in the game. Do you think Z will just know when he is ready to job search? Is he still burnt out from school?
I'm worried about your lymph nodes. I'm glad they got you in fast and have scheduled tests. It isn't something to mess around with. Stay positive and don't freak until you have test results. You are probably just fine and it has something to do with menopause.
I finally worked in my garden today putting compost in the containers and cleaning out the leaves that did not break down from Fall. In one of the small, round tubs I was moving and scooping leaves out and something moved in the dirt. I thought it was mice but it was baby bunnies with their eyes still closed. I quickly covered them back up and hope I didn't kill them. I don't know if they will survive or how the mother got up there to give birth in my tub. Or did she carry them in there and hide them after giving birth? No wonder we have so many rabbits and the coyotes haven't gotten them. So I didn't put compost in that tub as of yet. I need some more dirt to fill the others and then add a little more compost before I plant. Then I have to get starter plants and new seeds. I will still wait until we get home from Mpls to plant the garden. Then I know the nights will be warmer. It is still getting down to low 40's and I don't want to risk frost damaging the plants.
My sister has to be at the hospital surgery center at 5:30am tomorrow morning. I will pick her up at 4:45am so I need to shower and get to bed soon. The surgery is suppose to be an hour and then recovery. Getting her into her house will be interesting with her walker.
I went to aqua fit this morning, a more intense class. It was great! I will go to a class Wednesday and Thursday
morning this week. Thursday night I stay overnight at my sister's and take her to PT on Friday.
I need to make some time to bike ride too. I feel like I have been so busy and still will be for a bit.0 -
Here's hoping that things went well for your sister (and you) this morning.
My ultrasound was super fast and early this morning and then a few hours later some blood drawn at the clinic for labs (guessing thyroid?). Now the wait until Friday when I go in. Tick tock, tick tock...
I had a bagel and a half slice of pizza on Sunday, I am up three pounds. FFS. It's just so annoying. I had nearly 60 'weekly' extra points Sunday. I should have been able to eat three times that and still be down. I am just burning like zero calories. Sigh. "I enjoy being a girl!" I was kind of hoping to get the family to agree to come with me to a grad party this weekend in Omaha and take a side trip to a fun restaurant for a celebratory meal - but if I am already up three pounds from a single stupid bagel I don't think I can earn enough spare calories for a full party meal. It's not like I can say it's just one meal - because for the last several months 'just one meal' is taking me a whole month to get back off. Grrrr.
I think Zach is just too comfortable doing nothing. While I get it, but available jobs in his area are not as prevalent as just a few months ago already. It's just going to get worse as we continue to slide into recession.
Woohooo
Let's GOOOOO0 -
I am up 3-4 pounds and I keep sabotaging myself. What is my problem? We have to hang in there and persevere.
Today was very long! I'm too tired tonight to go into it but I will write more tomorrow on the occurrences today with my sister and surgery recovery. We were at the hospital 12 hours for an outpatient surgery! I picked her up at 4:45am and we were home to her house at 5:45pm. I had a large gin and tonic when I got home. It was well deserved after a stressful day. More to come...
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I slept well but woke up with a head and neck ache. I'm groggy and am enjoying coffee rather than going to class. Bad decision but just don't have the energy after yesterday.
We had to be at the hospital by 5:30am. Lynn's surgery was at 7:15am. They were on time but she had a hard time waking up in recovery. The doctor said surgery went well but when the nurse talked to me, she told me Lynn had really bad apnea during surgery. They had to use an inhaler on her at some point. Lynn does have diagnosed apnea but refuses to use her cpap machine. I was told her oxygen went pretty low and continued to do so even when just sitting in bed, so they had her on oxygen. I did not get to see her until the physical and occupational therapist came in to work with her mid afternoon. As charming as Lynn is, they could tell she is stubborn and obstinate, especially about using oxygen. They worked on dressing, standing and walking and monitored her oxygen levels without her wearing the oxygen tube. They went to low 80's even when just sitting on the bed. She doesn't feel it so doesn't think it is a concern. Every medical person that worked with her was concerned. It came down to whether they would discharge or admit her for overnight observation. I told them they should admit her because she won't wear the oxygen at home. The doctor wanted her to go home and she was adamant that she should. We had to wait for delivery of a portable oxygen tank to be discharged. It took until 5pm or after to get it. She was getting progressively more cranky and impatient. My cousin was waiting for her at home since she was spending the night with her. I had to go over meds and oxygen with her before I could head for home. I was frustrated with my sister's obstinance and exhausted. I finally got home around 7pm and had a huge gin and tonic and some
pizza. I was in bed by 10pm. What a day! I just talked to Lynn on the phone. She sounds better and is calling Home Health to get more oxygen. I am not going over there today but my duty starts tomorrow and overnight through her PT evaluation on Friday. I am sure once Polly and I aren't there, she won't use her oxygen. As of now, she is using it when she is sitting and sleeping, but not when moving around. At least it is something...
Today is overcast but no rain in the forecast for a week or more. We are getting the haze and smell from Canadian wild fires.
Well I need to tackle something around here today. Garden prep or go through clothes? Not sure yet.0 -
Apparently Bernie is up in Wayne interviewing. I thought he had agreed that getting a job in Wayne was too far away. He's killing me.
Zach claims to have several resumes almost ready to send out to prospects. We'll see. I offered to review.
Stress, stress everywhere.0 -
An hour commute each way will get old real fast. However, it sounds like Bernie needs to figure out things for himself. If it was Russ, and he went ahead to interview anyway, I would just sit back and see what happens. If he took the job, I certainly wouldn't listen when he complained about his commute.
Good for Z! Do you believe him? He sounds like he is slowly getting motivated and knows he needs to put his degree to work. Such a hard time of life when college ends and on to the next...
Today I washed sheets and started cleaning out the two closets in the guest room. One is a cedar lined closet where we store dress clothes and other clothes we don't wear. I went through mine and put some in a bag for give away. A few things went in the garbage. While I had the other closet empty, I touched up the paint in there and then organized stuff into bins and put on the top shelf. After Russ gets the deck done, I asked him to put in those coated closet organizer shelves so I can utilize the space more efficiently with bins. Some stuff I want available and don't want to have to go to the basement to get. Russ needs to go through his clothes in the cedar closet. He has a lot, more than me, and is hogging the closet rod. I also touched up walls in the livingroom, diningroom and den. I still need to put on one more coat tomorrow and then that is off my list.
I will make myself get up for aqua fit tomorrow and go workout. In the afternoon, Russ will follow me to my sister's house for care taking duty. He will give my cousin Polly and her dog Gracie a ride to Traverse City to her home. She can't drive anymore due to poor vision as a result of macular degeneration. Everyone around here are getting old with more health issues each year. I will spend the night at Lynn's. She is in a much better mood today so I'm hopeful tomorrow will be ok. I am going to ignore the oxygen issue. Her body, her choice!
I told you about the bunnies in my garden tub. Russ bought me some top soil today for my tubs. He checked on the bunnies and there are 3! They are all alive. He looked up info and they will leave their nest at 3 weeks of age. The mother checks on them twice per day, morning and evening to feed them. She stays away so predators don't know where they are. I wonder if she carries them out of the tub. It is high off the ground. I would think they will be gone when we return from Mpls.
Any plans for Memorial Day weekend?0 -
I made it to class and worked at an increased effort since I won't be back until next Tuesday.
I put my last coat of paint on the spots on the wall. In the right light and right angle, you can see I added paint but oh well. It looks better than scrapes and black paint from chairs touching the wall.
I am packed and ready to go to my sister's house. I hope she is in a better mood today, too.
I will be back late afternoon tomorrow so may check in tomorrow eve. I'm gone most of the day on Saturday with my friend. Another second hand sale down state.
It's almost Friday!0 -
Wow! You got a lot done in a short amount of time. I hope your bunnies make it out of the planters. Bernie said some moved into ours last year.
I hope your time with your sister goes smoothly. I don't think I am cut out for caretaking. Thinking about it with regards to my parents usually just makes me grumpy because I often didn't feel 'taken care of' when I was younger. Shrugs. Oh well.
I get Bernie is 'unhappy' but I thought he was making progress on a job at BD here in town. Him taking a job in Wayne is just stupid at this point. It's going to make it even more impossible on the occasions I might need his help. Gr.
I sure hope Zach is moving in the right direction. He's got to start acting like he can take care of himself.
Friday-eve and I've got to make some decisions and actions for the shower. Like breaking it to Bernie he has to clean out the garage. Yuck
Take care0 -
In the waiting room for my appointment. Woohoo!0
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well - all the tests were 'normal' and he doesn't see any 'nefarious' reason for the swelling in the lymph nodes. Probably just something my body is processing. But, of course, if it doesn't get better come in again. Meh. Even though I have met my deductible this was several hours, much anxiety and will still be several hundred(s) dollars out of pocket. Good grief.
Hope things are going well for your sister.0 -
I'm glad you are ok but sometimes it is easier to get a definitive answer rather than come back if you still have concerns. I guess if the lymph node gets larger or tender, go back.
When is the shower again? Are you ready or still figuring it out? Did Bernie have an interview in Wayne yet?
I went to my sister's about 1pm on Thursday. Russ took my cousin and her dog home. My sister was in a better frame of mind than when I dropped her off after surgery on Tuesday. She was cooperative and in less pain. My cousin had the roughest time with the first two days. I walked on egg shells a little bit to not be too pushy or bossy. I just respectfully asked her what she wanted for dinner, laid out her meds at the right time and watched TV with her. I slept on the couch in the livingroom instead of the guestroom in the lower level so I could easily get her meds in the middle of the night. Friday I took her to her physical therapy evaluation and then home. She couldn't get me out of her house fast enough. She definitely wanted to be left alone to nap and just do her thing.
I was up early this morning to go to the "Junk Market" down state. Kathy picked me up in her husband's pick up in case we needed to put things in back. It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun. I treated her to lunch since she drove. I was not good at lunch. I ordered a cherry chicken salad on a croissant for lunch with chips and a cherry sundae for dessert. The restaurant was called the Cherry Hut since this area is the biggest producer of cherries in the U.S. The junk market was a dud but we went in a store that had refurbished stuff afterwards. I found a really cool basket for my livingroom to hold toys or blanket throws. Then we went to the main street of the town to browse an antique shop and another shop. We both found a couple of "must haves". Then we headed north again towards home and ate lunch. We went to two garden nurseries and bought flowers for pots and planters. I also bought starter plants for my garden so I can get it planted this week before we leave. Russ put in the new irrigation system in my containers today. The 3 bunnies are gone as of yesterday or earlier. The mother must have removed them since they were bigger, furry and eyes were open. Also, maybe because she could tell they had been disturbed. Hopefully they are not in another garden tub.
Tomorrow I bike ride with my sister and I will be planting on Monday/Tuesday. Laundry and then pack on Wednesday, leave Thursday for Mpls. Life feels so busy right now.
I hope Z gets going on a job hunt. Does Bernie talk to him about it? What is C up to?0
