A cute accident, and some updates

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We had some more snow last night. Checking the security cameras, I saw that the road was plowed. We’re going to have to dig out the end of the driveway.

I also started getting a lot of motion detection notifications from the garage cam. I never saw what was triggering it, though.

What I did see was this.

A pair of matching hearts in the snow.

Who made these?

So I started going through the history, checking both stills and video clips. They weren’t there on Sunday, but as I watched myself walking towards the gate to meet my SIL on Monday, there they were, slightly less snow covered, but also less visible in the diffused light at the time.

It took a bit of going over the files more, then remembering that the motion sensor is triggered by people (and the occasional cat or deer), but not vehicles. We haven’t been able to figure out why (this is one of my brother’s new security cameras, not one we got).

My brother and nephew were here on Sunday. I saw them getting into their care to leave, but the camera wasn’t triggered by the care as they backed up towards the driveway then turned to the gate.

These are tire tracks. After the snowfall and in the morning light, they just happen to now look like hearts.

Adorable.

Almost as adorable as these guys.

There’s at least three more cats in there that are not visible in the photo.

Somehow, they got one corner of the hammock off its hook. I haven’t been able to put it back as it can only be reached through the ramp door, which has the box sheltering it. A box that’s currently stuck in place with packed snow and ice.

I took this when I did the second feeding. My darling daughter did the morning feeding for me. It was -27C/-16F at the time. I don’t know what the wind chill was, but when I checked later and we had warmed up to -20C/-4F, the wind chill was -34C/-29F Thankfully, by the time I did the second feeding, there was hardly any wind, so it was just really cold, instead of brutally cold. 😄

In other things, my mother was successfully transferred to the temporary long term care unit in the town she had her apartment in, last night. My brother called them this morning and talked to the nursing staff before talking to my mother. She got there shortly after 7pm in a taxi handivan – and no, we are not going to be charged for that. However, a bag that contained, among other things, my mother’s Pepto got forgotten in the van, and the staff were trying to track it down. The other TCU always uses the same taxi driver for these transfers, as he’s so good with the seniors, so it would be easy to track it down.

As for my mother, once he started talking to her, she started railing about how things were even worse here than where she had just left. It took a while to get to what she was saying, and it seems she was still just rattled from the transfer. She does have a room mate, but she did say that this person was better (by which we understand she means, this is not a person with dementia trying to tell my mother to go away while claiming my mother’s bed was hers).

My brother gave me the proper numbers to call this TCU, though he didn’t have the room number. I tried calling as soon as I could. It went to voice mail so I left a message, but no one got back to me. I texted the contact info to my sister, though. After several hours, I tried again and got through.

I talked to the nurse, first, and asked how things were going. She seemed a bit hesitant in answering, as if she was trying to find the right words. My mother wasn’t quite happy and something my mother told her had her thinking she had been in a single room before. I told her that she had been in a single room while at the hospital, but at the first TCU, she had a room mate. I explained about the roommate having some level of dementia and her behaviour. The nurse was surprised because, while they do have single rooms, those are usually reserved (if possible) for people with dementia that shouldn’t be sharing a room because they might do things like that. She would have expected this other TCU not to place someone with dementia with a room mate. I told her, I didn’t think they had any single rooms!

I remembered to ask about the missing bag.

It turns out my mother thought it was missing because it didn’t go to her room. It contained her medications, which they never keep in patients’ rooms, and was at the desk (they would have a secure lock up for meds). She was even able to tell me some of the items that were in it.

After talking with the nurse, I asked to talk to my mother and got transferred to their cordless phone.

It was a… strange call.

My mother seemed out of sorts, but she was happy to tell me that my sister had come to visit. She was extra happy, because my sister had brought her “cabbage” (sauerkraut) and pickle juice. My mother has been craving something “sharp” to counter what she described as all the sweet she’s been getting. I have no idea what she meant by that. Some of her meals might have a dessert, but that would be something along the lines of canned fruit. Whatever. She’s happy with her “sharp” snacks!

She asked me about the truck at one point and I explained to her that they weren’t able to look at it yesterday, but were hoping to do it today (I’ve still had no word about it, and they are closing soon). That set her off. She started saying how I should “explain to them” that we need the truck. I told her, they know our situation. Oh, but if I just explain to them. I told her, they have appointments. They have to fit the truck in, in between appointments, and need at least a couple of hours to look at where they think the problem is. I then started getting lectures about how other people’s appointments didn’t matter, they should take care of me. Then she started saying how my brother and I need to get together to find a “good mechanic”. Because mechanic always cheat women. When she started to invent accusatory things about how they were cheating me, I had to put an abrupt stop to it and pointed out she had no idea what she was talking about (in regards to the problems we’ve had with our truck), and she shouldn’t start going on like that. We should talk about something else.

After that, I had dead silence. Apparently, if she couldn’t complain about things, she had nothing else to say.

I remembered about the bag that she thought was missing, so I told her that it wasn’t missing. That it had medications in it, so it when to the nursing station, not her room, explaining that they have to lock up the medications.

She didn’t believe me.

She then gave me this description of her the transfer last night, looking into the bag and what she saw in it, how the bag was on the seat of the van and didn’t come in with her. It was still in the van. I told her, the nurse said she had it. Her medications were in the bag, so it had to go to the nursing station, not her room.

My mother didn’t believe they had her medications, either.

…

She would have gotten at least her bed time meds, and her morning meds, by the time I’d called her.

No matter what I said, she refused to believe me that the bag was not forgotten in the van, nor that they had her meds. She finally said she would go to the nursing station and ask them, herself.

There really wasn’t much else to talk about after that. She did say she was glad for the phone calls from me and my brother today. She calls the calls and visits her “second medicine.”

She may still be out of sorts, but where she is now is definitely better than where she was. She did complain a bit about the small size of the rooms (I don’t think she gets just how fortunate she was to have the big room in the hospital, all to herself!) and that she didn’t know the place yet. I brought up that she had told me she’d been there before, to visit people, so I thought she would be familiar with it.

No, she’s never been here before, she insisted.

…

She told this to me not long ago. Even made out like I was stupid, or that I thought she was stupid, to think she didn’t know about this place being in the town’s hospital. Told me how she knew people there and had visited them. Now she’s telling me the opposite?

When I said, she had told me she’d been there before, not that long ago, she just said, well, it’s a big place. So maybe she visited someone in a different ward? I dunno!

The good thing, though, is that she will start getting communion on Sundays from the church she used to go to, and they will likely be done by the same guy that had brought it to her after services at her apartment across the street.

So that’s where we are at with my mother’s transfer. Hopefully, she will settle in and be happier there. She did confirm that her transfer to the personal care home wasn’t cancelled. I said for sure it wasn’t; where she is now is all temporary. If all goes well, she will not be moved again until is to the specific nursing home she wants to be in.

How long that will be is anybody’s guess!

The Re-Farmer

Lots going on

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You know, for a day where I’m stuck at home, there was a lot going on that had nothing to do with home!

But first, the cuteness.

Toni and Ginger, our two tripods, snuggling while they nap.

On my very cat fur covered bed.

So the first thing I got today was a message from my brother, updating on the situation with our mother. He had called the main office and it was confirmed my mother would be transferred to the temporary long term care centre in the town her apartment was in. They still had to get things ready for her at the other end, and then arrange transportation. They couldn’t say when it would happen, but they wanted to get it done as soon as possible.

Almost immediately after, I got a text from my sister (who doesn’t really do Messenger anymore).

My mother had just phoned her, convinced that if we just talk to the right people, they would get her out of where she is. My sister talked to the nurse and they said they had told my mother, repeatedly, that they don’t know when she would be transferred.

I’m not sure what my mother is thinking is going on. Perhaps she’s interpreting it as not happening soon. Or not happening at all. It’s hard to say, as she tends to twist things around pretty severely, once she gets a conclusion in her mind.

In the middled of that flurry of messages, I got a message from the cat rescue, asking when I was expecting to go to the city next. I responded saying I didn’t know, since I currently have no transportation and don’t know when I’d be getting it back. Otherwise, it would have been tomorrow and Friday.

It turns out they have dry kibble for us! I was incredibly grateful to hear that. Especially with how much we’ve been having to spend on the truck for the past while, and now with an unknown hanging over us. I spent some time on that group cat, too. If we don’t get the truck back soon, one of them volunteered to drive the kibble out to us. !!! They are so awesome!

Then later one – while I was cooking and couldn’t stop what I was doing, of course – I got a phone call. It was from the TCU, so I called them back as soon as my hands were free and clean.

The TCU nurse started off by telling my my mother accepted the bed in the other location.

…

I’m not sure why that was still an issue, after all the calls between us all that were done yesterday. They only needed to arrange transportation. She had already called my brother and left a message.

Would I be able to transport her.

????

I said no, I have no transportation. My brother is at work and my sister would be on the way to work. We thought they would arrange the transportation.

Oh, we always ask the family first, as there would be no charge. If they do it, there would be a charge for it.

???

I told her that if there is, my brother, as PoA would be the one to pass that information on to, and told her I would message him and update him.

This perplexed me because, when my brother talked to him, I was sure he told me they’d said they would take care of the transportation, because they were the ones doing the transfer. Much like when my mother first went to the hospital by ambulance, she got a bill for it, but when they used an ambulance to transfer her to the TCU, she did not get a bill for it, because it was their responsibility.

I messaged my brother and it wasn’t much longer before I got word back. He had called them back and was told our mother would be transferred later this afternoon (she might be on the road now, as I write this) and they are arranging a taxi van, so they could fit everything. This would include not only her personal affects, but her walker and wheelchair, so that makes sense.

He also confirmed that he had been told previously that there would be no charge for the transfer, but when he called back today, it never came up. He said he would deal with that later. For now, we just need to have her moved!

So the first, and only, time any of us heard about being charged for transportation was when the TCU contacted me earlier today.

Between all of this, I found myself spending most of the day on the computer, messaging back and forth with two very different groups of people – plus texting with my sister and on the phone with TCU.

As the afternoon progressed, without hearing from the garage, I sent them a text asking about the truck. I mentioned that I’d looked up the part, just to see what it looked like, and saw the prices. I let them know that if it needed to be replaced, we simply can’t afford it. Hopefully, it will be something more minor!

A response came in while I was outside, doing the evening outside cat feeding. It was very apologetic. They weren’t even able to drag the truck into the garage at all today. They will look at it tomorrow.

I can’t say that wasn’t unexpected. I knew they could only look at it, in between appointments, and once a lift would be free for at least a couple of hours. They have three lifts, but each one is different and used for different purposes, depending on what they need to be able to access. One of them can only fit small cars.

So, one more day with the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads.

On a completely different note, when I finished putting food and warm water out for the outside cats, I went into the old kitchen and discovered Bug on top of chest freezer! She snuck in while I was going out and I never saw her.

Unfortunately, she was nervous and spooked. Usually, I can at least pet her and sometimes pick her up, but this time, she ran off and hid.

She’s still there.

I’ve set out food, water and a squeeze treat, squeezed out onto a container, to lure her out. It’s way too cold in there for such a tiny cat (the old kitchen is unheated and seems to have no insulation at all – it wasn’t needed when it was an active kitchen and the wood cookstove was always in use!) so I set up a carrier that needs some work done on it, wrapped in a blanket, on top of the freezer with another smaller blanket inside. I’ve checked a few times and saw her snuffling around the middle of the floor, but she ran off as soon as she heard me turn the door knob. I found the container that has squeeze treat on it stuck against the door, licked clean, so I know she’d gone onto the freezer again and knocked it off while eating the treat. Hopefully, she will come back out again, soon!

Really hoping I can snag her and set her back in the sun room, where she has access to the heat lamps and warm bodies to snuggle with.

I’m also hoping my mother will soon me in her new temporary long term care unit. She’s familiar with this place, as she has visited friends there before, and I think it will be a much better situation for her.

Now, if we could just have some good news on the truck and have that back soon. I’ll finally be able to visit her, as well as do a whole lot of driving around that’s needed! Which included picking up what is likely a build up of parcels at the post office. My West Coast Seeds order has been in for almost a week, now!

Ah, well. It’ll all work out.

Oh! My husband just informed me that Bug is in the cave I created for her! Now, if I can just get into there without her running and hiding again…

The Re-Farmer

Dreading

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Once we get the truck back from the shop, I’m going to need to do our stock up shopping trips.

I am really dreading to see how much higher the prices have gotten.

Even the Wokies that “escaped” the US are realizing just how bad things are getting.

Canada is in so much trouble right now.

So glad we are no longer in the city and at least have the possibility of growing our own food.

The Re-Farmer

What next???

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*sigh*

So… we still don’t have a truck.

The work was done by noon. Once I was informed, I messaged my SIL to let her know. Then I suggested we got for (a rather late) lunch after picking up the truck. It took her about an hour to get to our place. Today has been technically warmer, but the wind from the south was brutal, so I asked her to let me know when she was close so I could meet her at the gate.

When we got there, I went in to pay. I talked to the owner a bit, particularly since they had just replaced a seal to stop the leak on a Thursday, and the truck broke down on the following Sunday. The problem is, where the damage was done is all internal. The replaced the seals and put in new fluid, but there was no way to actually see. Again, it’s best guess, but those oil leaks I had were leaking all over the differential, so that’s why they figure engine oil got in, and it just wasn’t caught in time. It was totally tried.

I paid the bill…

… and commented on the credit card smoking, but then added that it really was a good price, and I appreciated that they were able to keep it down for me. He said new ones can run around $2000. I told him I’d looked it up, because I didn’t even know what a differential looked like, and the lowest price I saw was in the $1200 range. So… yeah. This really was a good deal.

I also brought up that if we could just keep it running for a few more months, then told him about my BILs F150 that he was looking to sell in the summer. The owner just shook his head and said, he would never buy a Ford product. Of all the vehicles they work on, they work on Ford vehicles the most. Interestingly, my brother – who owns an old F150 – had also warned against it.

I told the owner, I have a hard time seeing it as being worse than what we are dealing with now! I made a point of saying, there was no way to predict the sorts of problems we’ve been having , but we just can’t keep this up. He absolutely agreed. I think he feels bad, since he sold it to us. It was absolutely a life saver, and I do love the truck, but good grief.

Anyhow.

With the bill paid, it was time to head out for lunch. My SIL and I were at first going to hit the Chinese restaurant in the hotel right next to the garage.

One thing I noticed right away when we parked at the hotel is that the broken plastic under the bumper was fixed! The mechanic and bolted it directly to the frame. It’s more solid there now than the rest of the piece. 😁

We went in and it turned out the restaurant was closed. They won’t open again until late March. I forgot that they do this every year. So we drove through town to go to a Subway.

Now, I was fully expecting the truck to feel different after the work done, but… what was I feeling? It was just a few blocks before I parked, so I really couldn’t tell what I was feeling. Anyhow. We had a wonderful lunch and got caught up in all sorts of things.

I really enjoy spending time with my SIL. She’s just awesome.

That done, we parted ways. I was going to go to the grocery store, then home.

The grocery store I was going to is across the street from the garage. As I was driving along, with stop sign after stop sign, everything felt wrong. There was a strange hesitation/jarring, and there was an odd noise.

Instead of going to the grocery store, I went back to the garage. I quickly messaged my family and my SIL, then went in.

My SIL told me she was still in town and to let her to keep her up to date. The owner was talking to a customer when I came in, so I just kept out of the way until he was done.

Needless to say, he was surprised to see me.

I asked him if he could drive the truck, and told him what I was feeling and hearing. He was very perplexed, partly because it was really hard to describe. He contacted the mechanic that worked on the truck. He wasn’t in the shop at the time, so there was a few minutes wait. When he got there, I gave him the keys and told him to do the driving, and tried to describe what I was feeling. He was very perplexed.

Once in the truck, I remembered to thank him for fixing the broken plastic piece under the bumper that was hanging down. He said it was no problem at all!

We headed out and he turned onto the highway that runs through town, so there would be no stop signs. The half block to the intersection, there was a noise, and he asked if that was it. I said yes, then added that I did consider that the noise might be from the ice and snow, but ruled it out.

Once on the highway and starting to accelerate, it started up again. There was no mistaking it. It was even stronger than when I’d been driving it from the Subway. He immediately took the next driveway into a large parking lot – barely a block later. Once there, he tried something. The truck can be set to 2 wheel drive, 4 wheel drive front, 4 wheel drive back, or auto. I keep it on auto in the winter. He set it to 2 wheel drive, then started driving again.

Everything was gone. It was driving fine.

He’d started driving through a residential area and tried something else, pulling over and switching it to 4 wheel drive.

It was back, and even worse.

He told me he wanted to take a look at the transfer case. I told him, my ride is still in town and suggested they keep the truck overnight. He asked if I could hang around for a couple of hours. He wanted to spend the time to really look into what was happening. Then we both looked at the clock. It was well past 3, and they close at 5. No point in hanging around town. He asked if I was comfortable driving home on 2 wheel drive only. I told him, I wasn’t comfortable driving it at all!

So he parked the truck at the garage and went in with the keys to talk to the owner. I messaged my SIL, asking if she could meet me at the grocery store, then grabbed a couple of bags from the truck and walked across the street.

I am so glad I decided to wear those bib overalls my daughter got me. They do such a great job with blocking the wind. My legs were fine, by my hands and face were getting blasted with icy wind, and I only had to walk maybe 200 feet!

Once there, I went ahead and got more than was on my short list. I couldn’t be sure we’d have the truck back by Wednesday, when I would normally doing my first stock up shop for next month. My SIL and I soon connected again. As it was getting so late, she was picking things up for their own supper, since she wouldn’t have time to make supper when she got home.

Once we were done and heading for the checkouts, I was very happy to see they had gone back to the single line system! When they got rid of it, I commented on it to the cashier, and she quietly asked me to call management and let them know. The cashiers preferred the single line system, too. I ended up emailing the company, but I have also been answering the surveys on the receipts, where you can be entered for a $500 gift card for answering it. At the end of the survey, they have a space where you can make your own comments, and every time I did, I asked for the single line system to be returned. It’s just more efficient. I’m guessing I was far from the only one to ask for it!

We got through the line very quickly. When I got to the cashier, I made sure to tell him how happy I was to see the single line system back. He said they were really happy with it, too, as it makes things easier for the cashiers as well.

That done, it was off to my SILs car and she drove me home.

As I got my phone out to let the family know we were on the way, I found a message from my husband.

My mother had tried phoning me. She left a message, but it was quite garbled, and it sounded like they (the care unit people) were going to move her.

To the town she lived in before going to the hospital.

???

This was quite a surprise to us, mostly because we would have expected them to call my brother, as her PoA, right away. So my SIL phoned my brother – her car has the computer and she can do that all hands free. He was stuck in traffic on his way home from work. I read the message from my husband to him. I said I would call my mother back as soon as I got home, and talk to the nursing station first. My brother was going to call the nursing station as soon as he could, too.

My SIL got me home and then had to leave right away, she needed to get home. She couldn’t say if she could give me a ride again, as she has her own medical appointments, but I don’t even know when the truck will be ready or anything like that.

I got through to the nursing station before my brother did. I told her I had a rather garbled message about my mother being moved to another town. She told me, no, not today.

!!!

She put me on hold to get more details, then explained it to me. The care unit coordinator had offered my mother a bed. There is temporary long term care in the hospital of the town my mother lived in. They wanted to be sure my mother (and the rest of us) were good with this. I told her, this is where she used to live. She knows people there, she knows the town. (She has even visited friends that were in the temporary long term care unit she’ll be moved to.) This would be good for her, even though it’s still not where she wants to be. So there is a process that needs to be gone through, and they will likely call us about it tomorrow. I told her, she will probably be getting a call from my brother, who is PoA, soon, then asked to be transferred to my mother.

My mother was very happy to hear from me. When I asked about the move, she asked if I thought she should take the offered bed (I found out later, she had already accepted it). I told her yes!! It’s not where she wants to be, but it’s got to be better than where she is now. My mother agreed and started telling me she had lots to say about what’s been happening when I visit.

I had to tell her that I don’t have the truck because something else happened, and they need to try and find the cause, so it’s still in the shop. I have no idea when I can visit next – then went back to saying, the move would be a good thing.

I got the impression that something has happened (she just got moved away from the problem room mate!) that she didn’t feel she could talk openly about.

I was at my computer as we were talking as saw a message come in from my brother. He had talked to the nursing station and tried to call me, but the line was busy. 😂 I let him know I was talking to our mother, then told her that my brother was messaging me about having talked to the nursing station. She was all happy that we’ve all been making these calls and trying to figure things out.

We spoke for a short while longer. As we got off the phone, she was sounding very excited about this move. I let my brother know I was off the phone and he called me.

We basically had the same details – he also told them he approved of the move – and that our mother had already accepted it – then called the coordinator about it. Her office was closed by then, so he left a message which included him saying that he also approved of the move.

Hopefully, by the time I get the truck back, my mother will no longer be in that TCU and in a better situation!!

One thing my SIL mentioned during the drive home is how glad they were for me, that my mother was no longer living on her own and getting unreliable home care. With the problems we’ve been having with the truck, plus the weather we’ve been having, it would have been a real problem if they wanted me to cover for not having home care workers available for my mother. I told her, I simply could not have done it. As much as my mother is chafing about it, it’s been the best thing for her to be in the hospital, and now in the TCU, all this time.

So, there was are. I’m home, but still don’t have a truck. The mechanic did comment, as we were driving back to the garage, that it was a good thing I came right back. I’m so glad my SIL and I went out for lunch, first! If we hadn’t done that, I would have just gone across the street to the grocery store, then headed home. It would have started having issues while I was out on the open road, where turning around to go back would have been more difficult, and my SIL would likely have well on her own way home. All the pieces fell into place in the best way possible.

And now my mother should soon be transferred to better living conditions.

Plus, I got groceries. 😂

I still dread that question, though.

What next???

The Re-Farmer

A better day

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For the past while, I’ve been having the hardest time getting going in the morning. It’s not just dealing with pain, or lack of sleep. I have to admit, the whole situation with the truck has really gotten me down. It’s just one more thing of many that have happened in the past couple of years. Normally, most things are just water under the bridge, but every now and then, it just gets to be too much.

My daughters have been helpful. Lately, they’ve both been staying up all night, not just my older daughter as she worked on commissions. Since they are up anyhow, they’ve been taking care of the outside cats in the morning, letting me sleep in. I’ve never been a morning person, so this alone has done much to help.

The other thing is, I finally got outside to do some shoveling. My original intention has basically been to do the sidewalk to the gate, and maybe clear the cat paths. Once I got started, though, I just kept on going. The sidewalk, the cat paths, a path to the garage and in front of the doors on the storage side. My brother and nephew were going to visit my mother today, then swing by the farm to check on my brother’s truck, so I cleared it of snow, shoveled around it, cleared enough snow in front of the barn door that it could be opened, and a walking path. Since my brother had gone through a lot of this with the snow blower when we had to bring my mother’s stuff over, it was pretty easy shoveling.

Then I kept on going and did the paths to the compost pile, to the back of the garage, and a path from the house to the litter compost.

I also dug out the large cat trap my brother had given us and cleared it of snow. I set it on the landing with the door locked open, and it wasn’t long before I saw Bug going in to check it out. I set it back near the isolation shelter, so that cats can go in and out as will, and not see it as something to be afraid of.

Then I cleared the snow and ice off the catio and isolation shelter roofs. The isolation shelter took a bit more effort, as the warmth inside has melted the snow on the roof, even with the insulation sheets – those are pretty torn up by the cats! After clearing the snow, I tried opening the roof, but it was too heavy to lift from only one side. One realizing just how much ice was on there, I broke it up and got most of it off before the roof could be lifted and whatever was left could slide off.

I’m going to have to reinforce the back of the roof supports, so they all the supports can be lifted at once without any twisting around. I’ve just got some wood lath right now, which is fine in the summer, but they just popped free of the supports in places when I first tried to open it.

All that done, I did some clean up around the cat kibble trays. They have a lot of old kibble in them that the cats aren’t eating. the ones in the kibble house were getting too many bits of straw in them. The ones in the sun room were getting pieces of rigid insulation in them. There is insulation on the lower window behand the counter shelf, since that window is now a single pane. That cats have been scratching at it – the LOVE scratching that insulation!! – and there are tiny bits of insulation all over the place. Plus, even though there are litter boxes, these are outside cats, so there were messes frozen to the concrete floor that needed to be scraped loose. After emptying all the kibble trays and sweeping the floor on that side (I didn’t even try for the other side yet), I used all the scrap piece of insulation that’s been kicked around, laying it over the exposed concrete (most of it is covered already), including under the big aluminum baking sheet that they don’t like to eat from as much. I think it gets too cold. Now, there is insulation under all the kibble trays, and the heated water bowl.

The heated water bowls were in need of a good cleaning, too. Those all got emptied and scrubbed as best I could. They will get a more thorough cleaning in the spring.

With all that done, I set out fresh kibble and water early. The cats were vary happy! After putting the kibble out, I did a head count.

31

After doing the water, I counted again.

29 😄

I must say, getting all that done made me feel so much better. Better than therapy!

You know what else is good therapy?

Being able to pet Colby.

My daughter mentioned that she’s been able to pet him, so when he ran past me, heading out the sun room door, I tried to pet him as he went by. As soon as my hand touched his back, he stopped in his track and looked at me. He was so torn between staying for pets, and running away! Once my hand lifted for more than a moment, he was off again, but that was the most pets I’ve been able to give him, yet.

While I was working on all this, the cats were enjoying the gorgeous sunshine.

They really like that shelf shelter, with its clear wall! In the first picture, I zoomed in to get Colby, snuggling with his sister, Sprig. We still can’t get close to her.

In the next picture, you can see little Furriosa sharing that shelf with them, Collin below, and Fluffy above.

Then there was the sun room window.

That shelf was set up there just to they could use it and sun themselves.

There are 11 cats in that picture. Possibly more!

The down side is that poor Frank was being really harassed by Clarence making advances on her. I don’t think she’s even in heat anymore. I’ve even seen the boys going after Pinky today, and she is spayed!

Once inside, I sent a bunch of photos to the rescue. I’m pretty sure all the adult females are pregnant by now, but they also all would need to be trapped to get them to a vet. Even Frank, since she’s been quite the escape artist. Otherwise, she’s be spayed by now. Trapping will need to wait until things warm up, but the cats that went into heat the earliest will probably be ready to have their kittens by the middle or end of March – and we’re in the last week of February right now.

I did get to pet Frank quite a bit today, though. Still can’t pick her up – she doesn’t trust us after we tried our attempts to get her to a vet – but at least she allows pets now. She’s very nervous about them, but accepts them for a little while before running away.

After chatting with the rescue group, I decided to I wanted kluski for a very late lunch, finally using my spaetzle maker that I bought so long ago, for the first time. It worked great, but is surprisingly messy. Worth it anyhow, I think, for the more evenly sized and shaped results. It went very well with some leftover, deboned drumsticks in butter chicken sauce.

I was just starting to cook when my brother and nephew arrived. They did not stay long, as they mostly wanted to start my brother’s truck and check on it. It started fine. Then they went to check on their mobile and made sure all was well there. My brother ended up phoning me before the left. He was very appreciative of the shoveling. It turns out he had been thinking of lending us the truck, but it’s a “one wheel drive” and is temperamental in a way my brother and SIL understands, but really, no one else does. 😄 He was concerned that if I tried to drive it, I would have issues. I never even considered borrowing it! I thanked him for the thought, though.

Our truck should be done tomorrow (Monday), and my SIL has offered to pick me up and drive me to get it. I just don’t know when that will happen! I’m assuming they will want to get it done as quickly as possible to free up the bay it’s been taking up for days. If nothing else, they close at 5, so I know it’ll be before then. After that, I’ll pop across to the grocery store to pick up a few things we’ve run out of, but I’ll be doing our first stock up shop on Wednesday. Then Friday will be our Costco stock up trip.

If all goes well with the truck.

The thing is like a Sword of Damocles for us. I never know what’s going to happen next!

So I never did get to see my brother and nephew in person before they left. I messaged him later asking him to update me on how the visit went with our mother, once he was settled.

He ended up calling me before he had a chance to check his messages! He had just gotten a phone call from the TCU about my mother.

She has been moved to another room. Away from the roommate she told me has been telling her to go away, because she thinks my mother’s bed is her own bed. If there’s more to it, I hope to find out when I visit. I now know where her new room is. The nurse told my brother that Mom was in tears, thanking them for moving her. !!! Coming from my mother, that’s a big deal.

As for their visit, they were able to take Mom to a common room/family room to talk. Shortly after they got there, a woman came in with remote controls, wanting to use the TV. My mother started yelling at her to leave! My brother tried to help her with the remotes but they couldn’t get things working and she left. Only later did my brother notice that she’s switched the power off on the cable box by mistake. !! It’s unfortunate that my mother behaved the way she did. My mother has cognitive issues, but not dementia in that sense. She’s just like that and has been for pretty much as long as I can remember. The only difference now is, she doesn’t really try to hold back anymore. She’s old, so that excuses all sorts of unfortunate behaviour.

Anyhow.

My brother had quite a bit to go over with her, including the documents confirming her move out of the apartment and that they would no longer be charging her rent. After going through more things, he told me she seemed to start to realize just a little of how much my brother had to do for her in the background. Of course, she would never say anything positive to him about it, nor thank him or show appreciation.

My brother is such a saint.

Oh, and our vandal had visited her, together with his wife, just this morning.

*sigh*

At least she didn’t try to hide the visit from my brother this time.

Apparently, they’d been in town to do some shopping. I’m assuming my sister told our vandal where my mother is. Most likely, my mother made sure she did. Well, at least all visitors have to check in with the nursing station first, and the staff is aware of his abusive behaviour towards him. Plus, he was with his wife, and he behaves better when he’s with her. He told my mother he has stopped drinking (which I find highly unlikely, but whatever), and that they’ve already got his funeral pre-arranged. I don’t know if he’s still doing chemo, if the doctor has told him there’s nothing more they can do for him. My mother started going on to my brother about how she wants us all to get along. She just can’t accept that it’s all on our vandal to fix things. His hate for me and my brother runs so deep, I don’t see a reconciliation ever happening. Particularly since he’s managed to drive a wedge between us and my late brother’s children to the point where they want nothing to do with any of us anymore. We could never trust him again.

What a mess. And my mother and sister are oblivious at to how much they are making things worse by pandering to him, and how much harder it makes things for my brother, me and my family. Especially us, since we live so close to him. A relative statement, to be sure, but close enough that we can sometimes hear things from his place.

Ah, well. It is what it is. We just have to work with the hand we’re dealt with.

Well, that got off on in another direction!

In the end, the visit with my mother went rather well, all things considered, and now we have the good news that she is in another room. She will likely have another room mate, though, so we’ll see how that works out!

As for me, getting outside in the sunshine, doing the shoveling and getting so much done has made the whole day better. I’m feeling better than I have for a while now.

I will have to make sure to pain killer up before bed tonight, though, if I want to get any sleep!

I might even get to bed before 2 am for a change.

😄😄

The Re-Farmer

Our 2026 Garden: morning seedling mystery

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With our seedlings starting in the basement, I make a point of checking on them at least twice a day. In the evening, I turn on the heater and spend some time down there, getting my steps in if I need to. The celery is doing particularly well, and I’ve been seeing new seedlings coming up, including from the “extra” seeds I added to the pre-germinated ones, just in case. There was one little eggplant seedling that had its seed case stuck on the tips of the seed leaves that I ended up very carefully removing and was surprised to see three seed leaves unfurl instead of two.

In other words, I’m keeping a close eye on things.

Which means I immediately noticed something wrong this morning.

The first picture in the slide show above is the seedling that had 3 seed leaves. You can see part of one of them nearby. The other two, and half the stem, are gone.

I tried to zoom the next picture in, but the stem of that Sweet Chocolate pepper is cut right to the surface. The next picture is also a Sweet Chocolate, while the last one is a California Wonder.

If these were outside, I would be thinking that insects got to them. But these are trays in my basement. One of my daughters suggested it might be mice. We do have at least one mouse in the ceiling of the addition – the skittering drives the cats nuts – but there has been zero evidence of mice in the basement. There was also no disturbance in the soil that a mouse would cause if it was moving around the top of the tray. Plus, these damaged seedlings are sort of all over the place on the tray, and it would be odd for a mouse to get just those ones and not, say, the entire tray.

So what on earth chomped on these seedlings???

Very strange!

The Re-Farmer

Being watched, and an update

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I just had to share this bit of cuteness, first.

Fluffer peeking through the bathroom window while enjoying any warmth coming through the screen.

In other things…

I called up my mother this evening. It ended up being a very challenging conversation. When I asked how she was doing, she switched to Polish and starting talking about the “Indianka” (Indian person) and her bed. At first I thought she was complaining about one of the staff somehow mistreating my mother while changing her bedding. She kept using Polish words I was unfamiliar with. I did figure out that the person she was talking about was in the room with her – and it was strange that staff would be fussing with her bed past 7:30pm.

After asking questions about just what the problem was, I eventually figured out that she was talking about her room mate. It seems this woman has been telling my mother to go away, and that my mother’s bed is her bed. There seems to be more as well, but my mother was having difficulty explaining to me. Once I figured it out, I said that this is something we need to talk to the nursing staff about. My mother said she’s already talked to them and they say there’s nothing they can do.

This is obviously an issue of someone with dementia. My mother has increased cognitive decline, but nothing like this. She said she told the nursing staff the people like her room mate should share a room with other people like her, while people like my mother should be sharing a room with someone more like her – this is in reference to levels of dementia. The problem with that is, there might not actually be someone there at her cognitive level. At least not another woman that she could share a room with.

Earlier in the conversation, while she was still speaking in English, my mother asked me if I knew about someone that had passed away recently. This person was part of a family that are “neighbours” out here, but I only know two of them – one of them was my elementary school teacher until 3rd grade, in the one classroom school our little hamlet used to have. Grades K-3 were all in that one classroom. It turned out that the person who passed was their mother. After getting a bit of a lecture about how I don’t know what’s going on, I pointed out to my mother that I’ve been stuck at home because the truck is in the shop; if I’m going to hear anything, it’ll only be if someone I know posts it on Facebook.

The truck reminded her to ask me when I’d be visiting her next. I explained to her the current timeline, and that it should be done on Monday. So am I visiting her on Monday? I said no, that’s when the truck is supposed to be done. I still don’t know how I’m going to get it. If anything, I’d be visiting on Tuesday.

When the conversation shifted to Polish and I managed to figure out she was trying to explain to me about her room mate, who was in the room with her while she was talking to me, she started talking about getting into the nursing home. It turns out the neighbour who passed away was in the nursing home she wants to go to. Which means a bed is now open.

…

We have explained to her that priority goes to people who are in the worst shape, but this was not the time to bring it up again.

As she continued to speak in Polish, she starting saying that my brother and I should go to the nursing home and explain my mother’s situation to them, and tell them she will pay them lots of money, every month, if they would just let her in.

So… she wants to bribe the nursing home staff.

I tried to explain to her again, that the nursing home staff have no control over it. It’s up to the government. The health department makes those decisions, not the nursing home.

I don’t know if she can’t understand this, or won’t. She is convinced that if we just ask and offer them money (she would be paying “rent” anyhow, so I don’t know what she’s thinking on that), they will let her live there.

I told her my brother had already contacted them and they confirmed this, but she kept on as if I never said a thing.

In other things, she mentioned my sister had visited. I told her I knew, and that she’s brought my mother the pickle juice she was craving. My mother was so happy about that. I think she just drinks a spoonful every now and then, but I honestly am not sure! I asked her how the food was, and she told me it wasn’t as good as at the hospital. Not bad, but not good, either. 😞

She went back to talking in Polish and saying she wanted to be out of there. Then began lamenting about how, in her old age, she now has no home of her own, no bed of her own. I told her, it won’t be any different in a nursing home, other than she’d have a room to herself. Oh, but at least she would be among her own people! She would be around Christians.

…

She still thinks the nursing home is run by the same people who ran it when she applied for a job there, 50 or so years ago.

Then she started telling me how she is afraid to sleep at night because of her room mate, and she doesn’t know what she might do. I don’t know what to make of that. One the one hand, if her room mate’s dementia is far gone enough, that could be a real risk. On the other, at one point of trying to figure out what the problem was, and my mother not being able to answer me (I still thought she was talking about a staff member at this point), I asked outright, is it because she is Indian? My mother answered, yes. So she might be fearing this woman because of her race. Or, more likely, it’s a combination of both.

Either way, my mother is not in a good situation, and there’s really nothing we can do about it. She’s in the system, and the system decides. My mother, however, insists that if we just talk to the right people, explaining her situation, and are bold about it, that system will be ignored and she would get to jump the que to get to the nursing home she wants to be in.

I’m really not impressed with this transitional care unit. I don’t have concerns with the staff or the measures they have to take. It really has more to do with the fact that they’ve got so many people in various states of cognitive decline, waiting to get into someplace else, in such a tight space and sharing rooms. This building is a converted hospital, but the TCU is only a small part of it. Too small.

I completely understand my mother’s feeling about wanting to get out, that’s for sure. Hopefully, she will get into a nursing home – even if it’s not the one she wants to be in, right away – soon.

Thankfully, my brother and SIL are back and they will be able to visit with her tomorrow. She will be very happy to see them. I suggested they might see about finding a private space they can wheel her to for the visit. There must be a common room or family room available. Somewhere that she can speak freely with them. I’ve already updated them on what my mother told me. Hopefully, they will be able to get more information from her, and will be able to talk to someone about it.

I honestly don’t know what we can do to make things better for her. She simply isn’t far gone enough for the system go consider her a priority when beds open up.

Plus, the system sucks at the best of times.

So very frustrating.

The Re-Farmer

A few more days

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First, the cuteness!

What a pile o’ kitties!

On the bottom, from the left, there’s Ginger snuggling Beep Beep, who is snuggling her boy, Potato Beetle.

On the top, from the left, there’s Ghosty, snuggling Tin Whistle, snuggling Shadow.

Also, my blanket is always covered in fur.

Another quiet day at home. It’s still been snowing, ever so lightly but for hours, so there’s actual accumulation by the end of the day. It looks like the next week to ten days will be the last of when we’re expecting daily highs colder than -10C/14F. By the end of the first week of March, we’re supposed to start getting highs above freezing, and staying there.

Of course, we could still get hit with one last blizzard around our anniversary in the beginning of April. 😄

We’ll be staying home for a few more days, too. Late this afternoon, I got an update from the garage. The part they ordered had just arrived at their second location in the smaller, nearer city. Not far from where my mother is right now, actually! Monday is when they’ll be able to install it. When I talked to the mechanic, I did tell him I would reschedule my medical appointment anyhow, so they didn’t have to do a rush job on it. They also know I don’t have a way to pick the truck up right, either. We’ll figure it out.

So, we are stuck at home for a few more days.

After hearing about a series from Lee Duigon’s blog recently, I have been binge watching Primeval on Amazon Prime and getting some crocheting done. I’m just starting season for, and working on bowl cozies sized and shaped for some particular soup bowls we have. I got tired of burning my hands on them. 😄 Once I get the size and shape right, I want to make a few more to match.

Boring live I’ve got going right now.

I’m quite enjoying that.

The Re-Farmer

Settled in

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Another quiet day today, starting out with the morning cuteness.

No word on truck status, yet.  Hopefully, the part came in today.  I expect to hear something late tomorrow afternoon.

So glad the pharmacy delivers out here.  My husband’s refills were delivered today.  Obviously, not something we could have picked up, ourselves, with our only vehicle broken down right now.

This sort of thing is why stocking up is so important!  You just never know when something happens.  My husband’s meds are the only thing we can’t get more than 30 days supply of.  Or, in the case of his bubble packs, 28 days.

Being stuck at home does make for some uneventful days.

I’m good with that.

The Re-Farmer