luvteaching

Checking in.

Good morning, It is 0F (yes zero) on the front porch thermometer and I got up to no water. We're on a well and the pipes or pump is down. Our son's water is out as well - he discovered it as he was getting ready to shower! He's going to go get some super heater and be here to help thaw me out. Then he'll thaw his place out. More later. Karen

Good morning, It's a bright sunny COLD morning here in Sedro-Woolley. Think 8F on the thermometer. Our road was plowed yesterday but still hasn't been sanded and we got about another 1/2 inch of snow last night. I need to finish off shoveling out the driveway (75 feet) and then work on the ramp which is almost done. Talked to DH's rehab facility this morning and I've been assured a phone call after 10:30 (they are in meetings which I understand). I asked what the secret was to getting a call returned and, when asked, mentioned that I had called daily since Sunday. I was met with momentary silence and then told today. I want to find out if DH will be coming home, etc. The person in charge of arranging his discharge hasn't made it in the last few days (understandable) but I'd still like to talk to someone! Thanks for letting me rant. Now back to our regular scheduled programming! Karen

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, Good morning from north of Seattle! We have about 6 inches of snow and it's snowing now. It's a light dry snow and we've had wind. My car, sitting in the carport, has snow on it! I haven't been able to get in to see DH since Saturday due to snow, roads, etc. Yesterday a dear friend stopped and saw him and they phoned me. He sounded great, wants to be home, and misses me. I miss him. I admit, I was teary off and on yesterday and out-of-sorts a bit as I wasn't with him for a second day in a row. The aide called me mid-morning and said he'd looked out the window and told her his wife wouldn't be coming when he saw the snow. She was going to have him call me but it didn't happen. I've left messages for two days asking for nursing/therapy, etc to call but so far nothing. It's totally frustrating! Oh well, will try again today. Have a good day everyone! Karen

Good evening, We've had a somewhat snowy and cold day today so, for the first time since DH was hospitalized, I didn't go in to see him. I had prepped him for this and I knew he'd be ok. When I left him yesterday he told me to stay home and not get in a wreck! It's looking more and more like we'll get him home for Christmas. He'll be in a wheelchair as the deep tissue injury on his heel need healing time and that could be a month or two more. It will be a learning curve for both us to get him going and I'll have to learn how to change the dressings but it's doable. Our weather the next few days includes more snow and temps in the 20's (low 20's). DH may not see me for a few days as driving on snow and ice isn't high on my list! In honor of Cookie Baking Day I baked 48 candy cane cookies and 145 shortbread cookies. Later this week I'll get chocolate chip cookies and gingersnaps made and I may try @ger_77's butter tart slice. Karen

Good morning, I'm sipping my Earl's Garden tea from Murchies. I really enjoy Murchies teas when I can get them. They deliver to the US and it's free if you order $50.00 which isn't hard if I wait a bit! My friend Wayne, who passed in September, did some subbing right after he retired. He subbed for our first grade teacher one time only and described the experience as herding cats! DH continues to slowly improve. I'm taking in our wheelchair today so they can use it to practice transfers. I had originally said I wanted him to be walking when he came home but that was before the deep tissue injury and before I knew the extent of the two spots. If we wait for those to heal he'd easily be in rehab for a couple of more months. So, I've indicated I'll be okay if he comes home with the wheelchair. He can transfer from the bed to the chair and back, is able to stand (but still needs to build a bit more stamina) when holding on to the bars or the pole, and I feel we'll be ok with him at home. We'd have a visiting nurse almost daily for wound care as well as PT and OT coming to the house. I'll have to have specialized transportation to get him here but we'll see how that works. Meanwhile Mother Nature is messing with us. We're having some cold mornings and clear days but it's supposed to change Saturday afternoon and that darn white stuff is predicted for about 5 days with accumulations of up to a foot. Then, by the 22nd, it's supposed to turn to rain. If we get that accumulation I'll be staying home as I'm not a snow driver if I don't have to be! @ger_77 Do you use white sugar or brown in the filling for the butter tart slice? I'm thinking of doing 1/2 raisins and 1/2 currants. I made my shortbread yesterday but I couldn't find any berry sugar (or extra-fine) down here so I'll have to stock up my next trip to Canada. Have a lovely day! Karen

Good morning everyone, My body has decided to be up an hour earlier, 5:30 AM, so I've been working on Christmas cards. The Canada ones are ready to mail tomorrow. Now I can work on decorating, the US cards, etc. DH is making progress. A few days ago the nurse changed his dressing on his foot and I finally got to see the deep tissue injuries (DTI) and now understand totally why he goes "ouch" if anyone touches or moves his heel. The one on the inside is starting to heal but the one on the back has a long ways to go. I also talked to the nurse practitioner and got quite a bit of information on what was going on. When he comes home (soon we hope) he'll have a visiting nurse to change the dressing and be followed by a wound care doctor. Yesterday we did something "normal". I took in his better clothes (think his HA sweats and quilted polo shirt from the Westerdam OBC purchases), put on the heavy boot and his coat, and we left the facility for a few hours! We had our local SKAT para-transit bus pick us up and we went to the Skagit Symphony Christmas concert at McIntyre Hall in Mount Vernon, WA. DH loves music and he was in his glory. The symphony paired with the Mount Vernon High School mariachi band and a folklorico dancer for the last few numbers and it was an energetic and lovely performance. The band director was just named Washington State Music Teacher of the Year and I can totally understand that! Riding SKAT back to the facility was an adventure as we picked up someone and dropped them off as well but DH was so happy to be out it was worth it. We also bought our present to each other yesterday - new appliances. Will find out today when they'll be delivered and installed. It's a fridge, stove and dishwasher and then I'll also get a new sink and range hood a bit later. Sprucing up the kitchen just a bit. I'm off to water aerobics and then to the rehab facility to bug them about DH coming home before Christmas. He's standing more on his own and is definitely stronger. Best wishes to all! Karen

@Sharon in AZ Congratulations on your adopting as well. I know it became legal in September and we were in El Centro, CA but that's where the memory gives up. On the other hand I can detail the day they called to say we were approved and the call later that same day to say they had a little boy if we were interested (Dec.5), going to hear about him (Dec. 6) and his visit to meet us (Dec.7). This placement was when we lived in San Diego. Karen

@kazu Thanks Jacqui! Our DS has been a blessing but he sure has added a few grey hair to my head over the years. I sometimes wondered if we were going to make it through the teen years but he's turned out to be a wonderful person. He is there when we need him and he's so good with DH. He's also built the ramp outside, installed the walk-in shower and put up all the grab bars to make things safe. When I think back to that little red-headed boy who crossed the doorstep 44 years ago I'm so blessed. Karen

Good morning, We're having rain today and that's fine - better than ice! Today is special in our household as 44 years ago we had our son placed with us for adoption. He was a 2.5 year old red-headed ADHD child who made us parents. He's turned out to be a wonderful man who still has issues focusing but will do anything for you. I don't remember what day he became legally ours but this day is ingrained in me. DH is making progress and there is hope. Yesterday he stood up in the parallel bars unassisted 6 times. That's a first as he usually needs some assistance. I told him I'd bring him a Costco chocolate sundae today. We've decided to gift ourselves new appliances for Christmas to do a kitchen make-over. Yesterday I priced out fridge, dishwasher, stove and range hood at Home Depot and today I'll check one of our local stores for comparison. Best wishes to everyone celebrating and kind thoughts to all. Karen

Good morning everyone, Not much to report. The weather is warming up a bit and no temps in the freezing range for a few days and clouds and rain. I'm happy to see rain for a few days. Today is off to recycling and then to see DH. He's holding his own and our biggest issue is getting him to stand consistently. Once up he can walk although it's slow. I'd love him to be home for Christmas and am very cautiously optimistic it can happen. Prepared for it not to happen as well. His family's Christmas is the 27th so may have to attend on my own which is fine but not optimal. @JazzyV I agree that the interment of the Japanese Americans was not the finest hour. Has anyone read the book Dear Miss Breed? It's the story of a San Diego librarian who had many of her clients (young ones) in camps in the San Diego area. It was a good read and lots of historical photos. I have the tree mostly decorated and now time to get the cards out and get the Christmas letter done. I need to get the cards to Canada in the mail sooner than later. @marshhawk We are attending our local Skagit Symphony's Holiday concert matinee on Sunday. DH is really looking forward to it. I have our local bus company picking us up with a handicapped accessible bus and taking us to and back. This is a free service but they have a limited area. I wish I could get it to bring him own but we are outside the area. Have a good day everyone! Karen

we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam a year ago September and no tiles and told they'd be mailed. Guess what showed up last week? You got it - the tiles! Karen

Good afternoon everyone, I came home from seeing DH as it hasn't gotten above freezing today and I wanted to be off the roads! I went in today mainly because of his Care Conference. They are starting to discuss him coming home but no date yet. Progress. They also got the okay to take off the big heavy boot! The two deep tissue injuries are still there. The smaller one is seeing some healing but the other bigger one is slower to heal. I was able to talk to a person on the Wound Care team yesterday and that was helpful. I'd been trying for a few weeks to get in communication with them as they only come in on Wednesday and are gone by 9:00 AM! Anyway, the person who called answered my questions and I was able to provide information and background so a successful call. Yesterday DH was wonderful. He did 60 feet in the parallel bars and, for the first time, walked with the walker and did 59 feet. He's one tired guy today. DS checked the outside lights a few weeks ago on a nice day so I was able to simply plug them in and set the timer. The tree is up and has lights on it but that's as far as I've gotten. This afternoon is getting gifts wrapped to take to BC on Saturday when my friend and I go see my Mom. My tradition is to watch the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen as I wrap so #1 is ready to put in the DVD player. Have any of you tried Crumbl cookies? They are new to our area and I've been told they are delicious, rich, and a bit on the pricey side. Enjoy the evening. Karen

Good morning, Well the snowstorm in this area fizzled out. We got wind and rain overnight but just a slight dusting of the white stuff. I got the tree up yesterday and the lights on. The facility called mid-afternoon and told me that they'd gone in DH's room and he was sitting on the floor. He wanted to get in bed and was tired of waiting for them to help. He seemed to be fine and they were going to be monitoring him every 15 minutes. No follow up. calls so he should be ok. I called at 8:00 AM to ask to have the Wound Care team call me (they are only there on Wednesday) as DH has a deep tissue injury on his left heel. It's now 9:23 AM and no call (they are usually gone before 9:00) so we'll see if anything comes of it. Being an advocate takes a lot of work! Meanwhile I'll get a few things done here, let it warm up a bit and then head in to see DH and spend some time. Mousse - he loves the daily mousse specials in the Lido on a BHB! when we go for lunch I am asked to get him his mousse first so he has it while I get the rest of lunch and then he gets a second one for dessert! Karen

Ok - the snow has started! @Cruising-along you didn't have to share you know! The roads were dry and so I headed in to see DH and take the promised milkshake for yesterday's walking (50 feet in the parallel bars and strawberry) but the milkshake machine didn't work at our closest Jack-in-the-Box so he'll have to wait for the next trip in. I stayed about 90 minutes with him, quickly did the banking (tomorrow is pension day) and stopped to read some Starbucks cards and get a cranberry bliss bar. By the time I came out of Starbucks the snow was swirling and the wind was making it blow sideways. I Headed north to us and right now it's coming down pretty straight, the road was ok, but we're expecting winds up to close to 20 mph tonight. I'll wait until the morning to put out the garbage can. The B.C. ferries have totally shut down the runs from the mainland to Vancouver Island due to the wind. Now my list includes getting the tree up (fake), doing some wrapping, etc. Karen

Good morning Dailyites! Today we are supposed to start getting snow. It's currently 20F on the front porch and the sky is a grey "snow" sky but it needs to warm up a bit for the white stuff to happen. Our roads were quite wet yesterday when I was driving home (in daylight) so I'm hesitant to head out this morning. I'd warned DH and the staff that I would probably stay home today due to weather conditions and he was ok with it. Yesterday he walked 50 feet in the parallel bars! I owe him a milkshake (strawberry) on my next trip in. I have plans to get things done at home today - rearrange the living room and put the tree up (not decorate but up), do some cleaning, make some cookies, get some wrapping done (I'm heading to BC on Saturday possibly and need to take gifts up) and get the Christmas cards out. I feel a bit guilty not going in to see DH but I could really use the day at home and I don't need to get into an accident due to the roads. I'm a wimpy snow and ice driver. Have a good day everyone! Karen

Hi @lobsternight from a fellow Canadian who married an American. To highlight someone's name do shift 2 (@) and then start typing the person's handle. They'll pop up and you'll see it in blue. I agree that the lower mainland tends to shut down if there's snow! I was born in Kamloops and raised in Coquitlam. I married an American 45 years ago and here I sit. Still a Canadian citizen though. Karen

Good morning everyone, @JazzyVMy condolences across the miles. DH gave me some hope yesterday as he was so much more his old self. I gather, from anecdotal reports and his own admission, that he got tired of waiting for them to come and put him in the bed so he did it himself. The aides came in to do it and found him all set. He told them he did it himself, but they still asked around and nobody said they helped. Now they are keeping a close eye on him! Yesterday he walked 28 feet in the parallel bars (first walking in over a week) and his standing up was almost unassisted. Hope..... We have snow in our forecast starting on Wednesday and I'm not much of a snow driver so we'll see how it goes. It's not supposed to accumulate to too much but it's the cold temperatures and the overnight freezing that bother me. I'm prepping DH for me not coming in as much or staying as long. I do have a care conference for him on Thursday. We have a light dusting of snow this morning but the sun is out. Today is going north to Bellingham for a few errands and tomorrow is taking care of banking and a few errands south in Mount Vernon and Burlington. That way I'm set for the rest of the week if Mother Nature isn't kind. Have a lovely day everyone! Karen

Good morning, We had a nice Thanksgiving Day even if it was spent at the Care Center. Our friends brought us a lovely dinner - turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots from the garden, fruit salad, apple pie and Earl Grey tea. I supplied the homemade rolls and the staff gladly accepted the last 4 and were eating away on their break. DH had a hard time sitting up and keeping his body in control so I had him put back in bed and he ate every†hing on his plate - but slowly. I was getting ready to leave and he not-so-gently reminded me to make sure to leave his apple pie! I was out on Black Friday shopping this morning. I'll also do some on-line. Today was Fred Meyer for socks, boxers, Fat Max measuring tapes for DS (He gets one at Christmas and I save the other one for his birthday at the end of July), and ice cream. I went in the store in dry weather and came out to a lot of rain. Heading back in shortly as I get my Covid booster at 11:00 and then in to see DH. Have a great Friday! Karen

Good morning, Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! We do both the Canadian one and the American one in this house. @VictOriann Happy #60 to you both! @kaz Happy heavenly birthday for Jose and hugs to you! The dough is in the bread machine and the machine should be beeping soon for the next step. I'll be heading out to the care facility to spend the day with DH. He's having some ups and downs this week. Our good (very good) friends are bringing Thanksgiving dinner to us. The care facility brought a table and some chairs into DH's room yesterday and we can eat in privacy which will be nice. Covid has reared its head in the facility but no cases in DH's wing so that's good. So far several patients and at least 7 staff members. I'm hoping his wing stays Covid free. Enjoy the day everyone! Karen

Good morning, It's a cold morning again here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm just south of Bellingham and north of Mount Vernon to give you an idea. It was a lovely sunrise and pretty red - rain is on the way by Tuesday. DH had a quiet day yesterday and was in bed when I got there and stayed that way. He was alert and chatty until mid-afternoon and then started tuckering out. I figured this was happening as he'd done so much on Friday. He had no therapies yesterday. I did bring him his strawberry milkshake and he wasn't about to let anyone get near it! This morning is a lazy morning for me. I'm still in cozy pj's and fuzzy socks but will shower and get moving soon. I need this kind of morning every once in a while. I've made chocolate chip cookies and addressed the Thanksgiving cards so now need to address and stamp them for the mail tomorrow. I've even got some laundry going - I'm fluffing the bed pillows and washing sheets. It doesn't seem such an onerous task in fuzzy socks! Have a great day everyone! Karen

Good morning! It's 20F on the thermometer on the front porch with lots of blue skies and sunshine. I'll take National Adoption Day as our son is adopted. We adopted him in San Diego. He was 2.5 years old and came walking, talking, almost potty trained and a mop of red hair! He's 46 now, the red has faded a bit but you see it in his beard and a few other places and he's still a talker. DH is making slow progress. Yesterday was very good in many ways. He stood at the parallel bars without help getting up and stood for a minute which is good. Later he walked 30 feet in the parallel bars with minimal assist then wheeled his wheelchair 214 feet back to the room. This was in addition to the arm machine and the bike. He'll be tired today. On the downside he was prepped for a shower and the therapist and I noticed blood coming from the bandage on his heel where he has a deep tissue wound. The Wound care team saw it on Wednesday. In addition to blood there was some other oozing. He had his shower (they covered up his leg), and got dressed and wanted to be in bed and then there was blood still oozing. I got the nurse but she was busy doing diabetic checks, etc. and said she'd get to it when she got to our end of the hall. Well, I left at 6:00, DH was having his dinner, and she was just getting to our end of the hall. I asked her to call if there was anything wrong and she didn't call so I'll see what I find out shortly when I head into town. Being a caregiver and an advocate is a 24-hour job! Have a great weekend everyone! Karen

@scubacruiserx2 Sorry to disappoint but that's not the Lions Gate Bridge. I believe it's the Port Mann one.

Good evening, It's been a good day. DH walked today - not as much as @Quartzsite Cruiser's but the most he's done - 26 feet! I am rewarding him with an Oreo Cookie milkshake when I go in tomorrow. @atexsixBruno - it was on the Alaska cruise last year - Nieuw Amsterdam - that we met. I enjoyed seeing DD at the Lincoln Center stage and chatting with him. I'm sorry he's declining. You're doing a great job of being there and taking care of him. Kudos! Please tell him hi for me and I'm thinking of him. @dfish, THanks for the ideas. If I don't learn something tomorrow I'll start requesting the info in writing. That's a great idea! Rehab places are scary and I feel for the people who don't have people advocating for them. The people in direct contact with DH are very kind and caring but they are hampered by "the system". Karen

Good morning everyone, It's a cold clear day here in the PNW and I love it! Rain isn't in the forecast for almost a week which is nice. DH is making progress but slow. He has a heel problem with a deep tissue injury which is slowing him down. I had a Care Conference yesterday unbeknownst to me until I got there. Communication is not a strong suit at times from the facility. Overall he is making slow progress. I can't talk to the wound care people who change his heel dressing because they only come on Wednesday (wound care Wednesday) and they are done before 9:00 AM. His blood work that was ordered last Friday was finally done yesterday. It gets frustrating trying to be an advocate. Oh well - we soldier on. @Quartzsite Cruiser Your husband sounds. like he's doing better than mine (minus the blood pressure issues). Hang in there! Caregiving isn't for the faint of heart! Now off to see DH for a few hours and then I have a 3:00 PM Doctor's appointment (check in with the PA) in Bellingham which is about 25 minutes north of us. While I'm up there I plan on a bit of shopping at a few favorite spots and then a stop at Boomer's Drive-In for chicken Swiss mushroom burger to bring home for dinner. Karen