health issues

Here’s hoping!

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It feels like it’s been such a long day!

But first, the…

… cute sneak thieves!

The cheeky buggers! Both raccoons and skunks are now regularly seen in the sun room. While the camera didn’t catch them last night, I know they go into the isolation shelter, too.

*sigh*

The storm system that hit yesterday hasn’t been too bad, over us. Our weird climate bubble has rescued us again. We got a bit more snow, and it was still snowing this morning, but that’s it. The town my mother is in got pouring rain during the night! So did the city. The highways group I’m on had many reports of poor driving conditions on the highways.

My younger daughter came along for our errands of the day, with our first stop being the post office to pick up a parcel. The paved roads near our little hamlet were already starting to melt, even as more snow was falling. As we got closer to town, however, the road conditions slowly got worse. I found myself doing about 80-85kph/50-53mph all the way, instead of the 100kph/62mph speed limit. It was very messy and hard to see where the lanes were, the closer we got to the lake, which is pretty typical. I’d heard of one road, just before town, being washed out and we could actually see the damage as we drove by! Still, I’ve driven through much worse.

Our first stop in town was to drop off the truck at the garage. We’d left early, knowing it would be slow going, and ended up only about 15 minutes early instead of the half hour early it normally would have been, in good driving conditions. I just had to drop off the keys, and then my daughter and I – remembering to grab canes – started walking.

First thing we did was get a breakfast, since neither of us had eaten before we left. We took our time about it. My appointment was a drop off time, not a scheduled work time, and it looked like it was just the owner in today, so I knew it would likely be quite a while. We did have other errands to do, but not until after we got the truck back.

We decided to walk over to the second hand store, just to see what we could find.

Treasures. We found treasures.

Specifically, there were a couple of hand crank meat grinders. One looking very much like the one I found in the old kitchen that I remember using when I was a kid, which has missing parts now. The second hand one we were looking at even had a spare mincing plate, though both were coarse grind plates. There was a second one, much smaller, that had two spare mincing plates, and was the same price.

After hemming and hawing, I finally decided to go ahead and get the bigger one.

Then we started looking around and I got a few more things, the most expensive costing $2. My daughter admired a couple of items that I ended up getting for her, including a matcha bowl and saucer set, and a fabulously retro pitcher. For myself, I got a serving bowl, an old Mennonite cookbook, and a couple of books with plans for making things like furniture and garden structures. My daughter got herself a DVD and a couple of novels.

One thing we both spend quite a bit of time looking over was an old China cabinet, selling at only $80. The set up we have for our dishes, serving bowls, etc. was great when we first moved out here, but we now have a lot more cats. The shelves are open in the front, and that’s become a problem. That cabinet would actually solve a lot of storage space problems we have right now. What we couldn’t figure out, however, is how we would get it home. Yes, it would fit in the box of the truck, but none of us are able bodied enough to load and unload it.

We didn’t get it.

Once we paid for our stuff, we were then stuck with carrying them around! The meat grinder alone is cast iron, and weighs about 15 pounds. It got its own bag. The rest all together weighed more. Not normally a big deal, but we were both caning it and, with my right elbow still messed up, I could only carry the grinder with my left arm.

We’d already done a fair bit of walking by then and needed to sit down, so we headed over to a donut shop for drinks and a donut each. It was a place we could hang out for a while and not be taking up needed table space.

By the time we were done there, enough time had passed – about 4 hours altogether – that I figured we could head back to the garage, even though we hadn’t been texted yet. The walk was slow going. My poor daughter was in so much pain, I could see she was fighting not to cry. 😢

When we got to the garage, the truck was still up on a hoist and almost done, so we went into the office to sit down. I made sure my daughter sat in the normal sized chair by their desk. They have other chairs, but they are much lower. Hard to get in and out of when your knees or back are shot, but I was having an easier time of it than my daughter was.

It was past 2pm by the time we got to the garage, though. The original plan once the truck was done was to do a quick stop at the grocery store, then a gas station, then drive to the town north of us to the tax preparer. I had my form to sign, but we’d then have to take my husband’s form home for him to sign, then I would drive it back. Then we were going to go back to town again, as my older daughter wanted to treat us to take out and sent funds for it. Altogether, it would have been an extra 3 1/2 hours of driving, at least, and the tax preparer’s office closed at 5.

We were both already in too much pain, so I called them up instead and said we weren’t going to make it today. I was assured that was all right. We’ve got until April 30 to sign the forms!

I’ll do it on Monday.

It wasn’t too much longer before the truck was done and it was backed out of the garage. My daughter took our stuff to the truck while I settled the bill – just pennies over $388, in the end. Hopefully, that will solve the problem and we won’t be back again for some time!

I know where my tax return is going.

*sigh*

As we were talking about it, he told me that, if I don’t come back for anything until after June, they won’t be there anymore. They are moving locations! They are going from about 2,400 sq ft to about 35,000 sq ft, in an industrial park – and he bought the building, so no more renting! That is so awesome! They opened a second location last year, and are doing well enough to expand locally, too. I congratulated him, of course. I’m so happy that they are doing so well. There are a surprising number of garages in this town, so for him to have enough business that he can expand like this tells a lot.

That done, I went to the truck – then had to get my daughter to go behind me to guide me as I backed out, as there were a couple of vehicles making for a tight space. While we were doing that, the owner came out to get one of them, to drive it into one of the bays. He was chuckling a bit when he saw what we were doing, but it did give me a chance to quickly talk to him. The check engine light was still on. I figured it should turn off on its own in short order, now that the new sensor is installed, which he confirmed for me.

Once parked at the grocery store, my daughter stayed in the truck, as she was in too much pain for more walking. We only needed a few things, but I went through the whole store to see if there was anything I was forgetting. Of course, there was, so I’m glad I did.

From there, it was to the gas station. I put $50 in the tank, which gave me a quarter tank at $1.799 *sigh*

Next, we headed to the Dairy Queen for take out – and the check engine light was of by then. My daughter came in with me, so she could choose for her sister and herself. For treats like this, we order a combo meal each, plus an extra burger each, so it took a little while longer for it to be done! I even remembered to bring in a hard sided grocery bag to make it easier to carry the hot food. My daughter ended up with the tray of drinks on her lap for the drive home.

Unfortunately, while the road was in better condition by then, and almost completely clear of ice and snow, it’s a rough ride. The road needs resurfacing. She didn’t get splashed too badly, though! It got smoother once we were on the gravel road again.

Once at home and unloaded, it was late enough that I went straight to feeding the outside cats, making it safer for my daughter to drive out of the yard and park the truck in the garage.

During the drive home, I’m happy to say that oil pressure gauge was right were is was supposed to be, the whole way. Here’s hoping that new sensor will keep working properly! It’ll take a bit more driving before we know for sure.

Tomorrow, I should go visit my mother, at the very least.

Now that we’ve got this last bit of work done on the truck, we have quite a few things to catch up on, little by little. Plus, I’ve got my eye appointment next week, which my daughter will have to drive me home from, and FINALLY, my third attempt at a doctor’s appointment in the beginning of May. If all goes well, I won’t have to cancel any of that!

Here’s hoping!!!

The Re-Farmer

A gorgeous day

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It’s coming up on evening as I write this, and we still haven’t reached our high of the day – anywhere from 5-7C/41-45F depending on which app I look at.

When I headed out to do the morning cat feeding, I didn’t even bother wearing a coat.

One of things we find in the winter is tunnels dug into the piled up snow. Today, I found two new ones – and evidence to show what has been making them!

The first photo is of the biggest tunnel. It’s hard to see, but to the left of the opening there is the distinctive paw print of a raccoon. Both raccoons and skunks are out now, and I’m seeing them in the sun room, stealing kibble!

The next three photos are of one tunnel with two openings.

I wonder if they nap in them or something?

After doing my morning routine, I was basically knackered. I am feeling both better and worse today. Better in some ways, but worse in a new pain way. I can’t stand for very long. It’s better while I’m moving, for a little while, at least.

So the girls have been taking over for me for the most part. I did go out again to do the evening cat feeding, and even tried to clear more snow away from around the well cap, were the bigger of those snow tunnels was.

The cats are really enjoying the warmer weather!

This gorgeous tuxedo is a very feral male. He’ll go into the sun room sometimes to eat, or to assert dominance over other males, but will not allow a human to come anywhere near him. Which is the only reason he didn’t run away as soon as I walked back into the sun room. He and Hypotenose where having words.

It was so nice out, I found excuses to stay outside longer. Did a bit more clearing of snow from around the well cap, though I probably shouldn’t have. I hate not being able to do work while the conditions are good.

The cats are just loving the warm.

The fluffy tabby glaring at me on the right is Furriosa. She has been making strange a lot more often of late. Which is unfortunate, as we want her to get used to being handled as much as possible before we take her in to the city for vetting and fostering and eventual adoption. When the time comes, I think we’ll have to close up the isolation shelter with the littles inside for the night, to make it easier to get them into carriers the next day. Sir Robin and Grommet will be easy to get, as will Domino and Blot. Bug has even been more ansty lately, and when I try to pet Furriosa in the isolation shelter, she runs out now. I think the warmer weather has something to do with it. They have more energy to run around!

Tomorrow is Easter, and it’s going to be a quiet one at home. I’m not up to driving to my mother’s to visit her and deliver a basket, as I’d planned, but I will be phoning her instead. All the remaining Easter preparations will be on the girls. Monday is our 38th anniversary, but we won’t be doing anything special this year. Tuesday, I bring the truck in to get checked out to find out why I’m losing oil again. Hopefully, the truck will not have anything major going on, and I will be feeling well enough to make the trip to my mothers – and the city trip to deliver cats! – later in the week.

Right now, I’m torn between wanting to go back outside and enjoying the day, or crawling into bed and curling up into a ball until tomorrow.

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer

Not happening

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My day started out all right.

It was a pleasant morning so, after the outside routine was done, I took the time to clear the path and set to the electric meter, so I can do a reading later in the week. I knew it would be a warmer day – as I write this, we’ve reached 3C/37F, with a “real feel” of 6C/43F – and I was planning to head out this afternoon to see if I could get more snow hauled away from around the well cap.

Not going to happen.

What I’d really like to do it this.

Curl up in a ball of warm fuzziness and sleep.

It seems my “side effect” theory is not correct. I have not been feeling well today, and have had to ask the girls to take care of things for me, simply because I can’t stand for any useful length of time.

*sigh*

Doctor’s appointment is a month from now. I expect to be sent for tests and referrals, and who knows how long it will take for those to happen.

Hopefully, I’ll be feeling good enough tomorrow to visit my mother. Forecast for Easter is a mix of rain and snow, so there’s another reason to go on Saturday, instead.

I’d rather not go anywhere at all until Tuesday, when the truck is booked to find out why I’m losing oil again.

What I’d really like to be doing is heading outside and getting some work done.

Very irritating.

The Re-Farmer

It begins

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Well, sort of. More like a tease.

Today’s expected high is -1C/30F, which we’re supposed to hit later this afternoon. It’s bright and sunny, though, and feels a lot warmer.

It was -12C/10F when my daughter did the morning cat feeding.

While doing the second feeding of the day and a few other things around the yard, I found myself needing to skirt around this.

There it is. The tease.

As the snow melts, this area becomes a bit of a pond. Some years, it’s part of a moat that encircles the garage and floods the pit under the outhouse.

For now, though, it’s a tease. Tomorrow we’re supposed to have a high above freezing, and then the highs are going to be dipping again. We won’t get highs above freezing again for about a week. Everything that’s melting now is going to be ice.

Ah, March. You’re just nasty.

Not a lot to say about today. It has been a bad pain day, of the sort that keeps me from standing in one place for very long. I can walk around, sit, lie down, but I can’t stand for more than a few minutes.

Even so, I’m still the most able bodied person in the household.

That’s rather scary to think of.

My brother had messaged me, saying he was planning to visit our mother and asked if I wanted to meet him there. I told him I wasn’t feeling well today. Which worked out, in a way, as he spent time helping my mother figure out her phone. She hasn’t been able to make outgoing calls. She keeps trying to use the programmed numbers and just not getting that she only needs to see the name on the screen, then hit the green button. In the end, he told her to just direct dial, like she always has before. They tested it out by calling here, so I was answering the phone quite a few times.

I later found out that my brother crossed paths with our vandal and his wife. They were going to visit my mother and happened to get to the doors to the TCU (which require a code to get in) at the same time my brother did. My brother, trying to be polite, asked how our vandal was doing, all things considered. His answer? “I’m dying.” … okay. He then said he wanted to talk to our mother alone. !!! There was an uncomfortable moment before his wife said they would come back later.

As my brother was leaving, about an hour later, he found them still hanging out not far from the TCU doors.

I really wish there were some way we could keep them away from my mother; he obviously is after something. The staff have been warned, but there’s really little they can do, since we don’t have any sort of court order.

What we do know is that he’s been telling my mother about things like his funeral already being planned out and paid for. It makes us wonder if he applied for and was accepted for MAiD, which is currently the 5th highest cause of death in Canada. My mother would not approve, of course, since it goes against our religious beliefs. It’s one thing to allow death to happen as peacefully and painlessly as possible, and deliberately killing someone. It’s not our business, except we worry about what he is say to Mom. She should not be burdened with his health problems. Lord knows, if my current issues turn out to be cervical cancer or something, I would NOT be telling my mother anything other than “I’m not feeling well”, unless I absolutely have to – and even then, I’d be telling her as little as possible. She does not need that burden, and she can’t handle that sort of thing at the best of times. Which leads me back to wondering, what is it he’s trying to guilt her into doing for/giving him, and why is his wife helping him do it? With all the threats of some sort of retribution he’s made against me and my brother, and claiming we caused his cancer, it frustrates me that he’s working his way into my mother’s good graces again so easily.

That’s one of the frustrating things about him. We’ve learned that when things are quiet from him, it has generally meant that he’s been doing things in the background that he springs on us, later on. I would have hoped that, when facing his own mortality like this, he would have tried to give up all that toxic stuff, but he has instead doubled down and gotten worse.

Well, if he is, I guess we’ll find out eventually.

It does make me glad I wasn’t up to going over there today. He’s been trying to wheedle himself into my brother’s … trust? … to turn him against me. If I were there at the same time, who knows how he would have reacted, or how he would end up treating my mother, after we left.

What a thing to have to even think about.

The Re-Farmer

Can’t be soon enough

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But first, the cuteness!

I have no idea what’s going on with Grommet’s face! I think I caught him with his mouth open.

I actually got this picture yesterday, while going in and out during the cookout. I’m really glad we did that yesterday, as I don’t think I would have been up to it, today!

I did get the morning cat feeding done outside – and discovered the cats had somehow unplugged the larger heat lamp again. We hit around -25C/-13F during the night, and the thermometer in the sun room was at -15C/5F this morning. The heated water bowl had ice forming at the top!

That done, it wasn’t long before I ended up going back to bed.

Getting the truck back from the garage can’t happen soon enough. I know, my brother got his truck ready for us to use, and I would be okay driving it for short distances, but that’s about it. I certainly wouldn’t be comfortable driving it to, say… our doctor’s clinic.

TMI warning.

As soon as we get our truck back, I need to re-book my doctor’s appointment. As someone that’s been post-menopausal for almost 20 years, I should not be having another period. Having one last month is why I booked an appointment in the first place.

I don’t feel sick. Aside from very normal feeling mild cramps, I’m not in any other pain. I have no other symptoms typical for this sort of thing to happen. It’s just… there.

Ideally, the truck will be ready tomorrow, or it might be the day after. Hopefully, replacing the differential again (under warranty) is the solution, because they can’t find anything else wrong with the truck. It should not be doing the things it’s doing! Kinda like my body right now. Once it’s back, I’ll call the clinic and book a new appointment – for the third time!

The clinic is booking appointments 4 weeks out right now, but perhaps they’ll have a cancellation or something that could get me in sooner.

Once we have our own transportation again.

The Re-Farmer

Not going anywhere!

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That Alberta Clipper moving across the prairies hit us early.

That -22C/8F is cold, sure (it’s actually gotten colder; while I was doing my morning rounds, it was -20C/-4F).

That wind chill of -40C/-40F, though. Yikes!

When I first headed outside, I thought I might do some shoveling after I finished feeding the yard cats and giving them warm water – which had started out as hot water, but was a drinkable temperature by the time I refilled their bowls. By the time I finished with the cat stuff, which only takes about 5 or 10 minutes, I knew I wasn’t going to do any shoveling.

Nor would I be going to my mother’s. As soon as I opened my FB app, the first thing I was seeing in my news feed was posts from the highways group I’m on, talking about nasty road conditions. There is a provincial site with road conditions, but it doesn’t get updated much, so this group is far more accurate when it comes to current conditions.

Once I got back inside, one of the first things I did was call my mother. By then, it was about 8:45, so I knew her home care would be arriving soon and I figured she might be up and about. It went to her (new) answering machine, though, so I left a message about not coming out and that I would call back soon, because I knew home care would be there soon.

About five minutes later, my mother called. I thought she had heard my message. Instead, she asked if I had just called her. I said yes, I left a message.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

What followed was several minutes of my mother ranting and raging.

There was no message. There’s just numbers. Tell [my brother] to bring back her old phone. She doesn’t need his technology (he got the least technical phone he could find for her!!), she needs a doctor.

????

This went on in circles for quite some time. She kept saying, she doesn’t need technology, she needs a doctor, and she wants me to take her to a doctor.

She can’t even get into my truck anymore, and where would I magically find a doctor available on short notice, like this? It’s not like anyone takes walk ins anymore.

I did manage to say that the reason I’d called was because I wanted to reschedule today, because of the weather, and had been thinking of Monday, since I could do her grocery shopping as well by then.

She lost it again, and I couldn’t continue for several more minutes. She doesn’t need groceries. She has groceries. She needs a doctor. She needs to see a doctor.

Not once did she say why.

As for my not coming out to her today, her response was a nasty dig of how “of course” I can’t come out. Like it was a personal rejection.

I finally managed to tell her, if she feels that bed, use the Lifeline, get an ambulance and go to the hospital.

Dead silence.

I repeated the instructions.

Dead silence.

I tried again, adding that if she wasn’t feeling that bad, home care would be there soon. She could talk to them.

Dead silence.

You’re not talking to me now?

Dead silence.

I told her I would call back after she’s had a chance to calm down and said goodbye.

I tried again when I was pretty sure home care would be there. She actually answered the phone fairly quickly, and was much calmer. We talked for a while about her situation, and how I wasn’t going to be coming out today. I asked when home care was supposed to arrive, and she said they show up whenever they feel like it. I’d mentioned the weather and road conditions, and she actually considered that this might be why they weren’t there yet (she never told me the actual time they were scheduled for, she just has a time in her mind they should be there, regardless of what the schedule says). With a day like today, it would not be a surprise if people were falling behind, even if they only need to drive in town. She started to talk about how, if she just had a “slip”, she could take her pills herself, and I shut that down, saying flat out that what she needs is to be in a nursing home (which she has been fighting for, for over a year now), and I’m really upset that it hasn’t happened yet. That seemed to actually mollify her a bit.

Then the home care worker showed up, so I asked to talk to her.

I briefly explained the situation, and how my mother wasn’t saying WHY she needed a doctor. I asked if she could make the best assessment she could (they have their limitations) and that, if necessary, get my mother to use the Lifeline and get her to a hospital.

I haven’t had a call back, so that probably didn’t happen.

So my morning has been spent on the phone and on my computer, updating my siblings and so on. I’ll be calling my mother again later to check on her. Otherwise, it’s a day to stay home and stay warm!

Good grief. What a way to start the day!

The Re-Farmer

A run around day, and new products to try

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Today was supposed to be an at home day, except for a trip to the post office.

Ha!

After doing my rounds this morning, making sure to open the gate for the septic guy, I was just finishing breakfast when I got a call.

From home care.

Someone had called in sick, and they didn’t have anyone for my mother’s morning assist.

I had just enough time to throw some shoes on, grab a coat and head out. I did phone my mother first. Which is good, because she about to start making herself breakfast. Which the home care worker is supposed to do! I told her, if she’s willing to wait half an hour, I’ll do it for her, then told her about the cancellation.

Then she asked me if I was going to stay to do more stuff for her. I told her, no – I’ve got Friday set aside just for her! I told her I wanted her to take the chicken out of the freezer on Thursday, because I was planning on cooking it for her, and she was very happy to hear that.

Then, I headed out and got there just at her scheduled visit time, which worked out nicely. My mother was starting to do a few things for her breakfast, so I got her to sit down so I could finish it for her.

I did the usual stuff home care would do for her, like empty her commode, but also refilled her water bottles from the tap in the laundry room for drinking/cooking water. I made sure to check her milk supply and she was almost out. For just the one thing, I simply walked to the grocery store to get more for her, since I’ll be doing a full shopping trip on Friday. She’s been working on her list, and it’s going to be a very large one, compared to her usual.

Before I headed out, I got more details about that call she got about canceling her Meals on Wheels.

It wasn’t the Meals on Wheels office or kitchen that called her. It was the Senior’s Centre that oversees the program. She was able to give me the name of the guy that called, and she could hear the worker that delivered my mother’s meal earlier, talking in the background.

They told her that someone had called to cancel her Meals on Wheels and when she asked who, they suggested it was probably me – they actually used my name. So my mother said she would call me. The odd thing was that the woman that delivered my mother’s meal said that she did not deliver a meal that day. My mother told them, yes you did, I’m looking at the tray on my table right now!

With that information, I headed home, with a quick stop at the post office to pick up my parcels.

Before I opened them, I made sure to call the Meals on Wheels office – my husband has messaged me to let me know someone from there had called me while I was gone. There was no answer, so I left a message explaining that I was just at my mothers, what she told me, and that we were very confused by all this – but also very glad that it was confirmed her Meals on Wheels was NOT cancelled.

Today is a Meals on Wheels day.

That done, I finally opened up my parcels. There are two things that I got, that I can give reviews on already.

The first is a cat toy.

I picked it up because it was very inexpensive, and I was curious if it would live up to the promotion.

The first picture shows how it arrives. This is one of those toys that are supposed to change shape as the cats try to get at the captured jingle ball inside.

I had to use double sided tape to get it to hold together. I’m not sure how it was supposed to hold together without it. The two ends did actually stick together at first, but popped apart very easily.

As you can see by the second and third photos in the slide show above, Ghosty was very interested! The pictures are in two of the configurations it can roll into. The third encloses the ball completely inside.

Once it was together, I set it in the dining room for all the cats to check out. For a while, there were four or five of them around it, trying to get at the jingle ball.

The toy did NOT change shape while they played with it, which is supposed to be part of the attraction for cats.

They soon got bored with it, but for the rest of the day, there have been cats in and out of the bigger box. There a cat sleeping in it on my bed, right now. The cats are going to be most displeased when I move it! 😄

The other item I got was a tool to clean our eavestroughs from ground level.

I had considered getting the kind that you attach to a hose, but for this time of year, I’ve got all but one short hose put away for the winter, and that one will be put away very soon. If I’m going to get one of those, which I do still want to, it will be closer to spring.

Instead, I got a brush type.

In the first and second pictures, you can see it came with two brushes and a bungle of pole attachments. The instructions are pretty basic. Screw the pieces together to get the length you want. There is one piece that is for the end and has a cap that can be used to hang from.

It’s a good thing it came with two brushes.

Since the septic guy hadn’t arrived yet, I started off at the eaves above it. This area is particularly difficult and hasn’t been properly cleaned out in a long time. For starters, there is a right angle where the roof over the old kitchen meets the roof over the original log part of the house. That corner is always getting the most debris collected in the eavestrough. The ground below is not level, so using a ladder is dangerous. My younger daughter was (key word, was) the only person able bodied enough to go up there on a ladder, while her sister held it steady. She, however, has problems with heights and even with the ladder being held steady, it feels so precarious, she just couldn’t do it. Now, she physically can’t really do ladders at all, anymore.

Getting into the eavestrough was not easy. The brush had to be bent almost completely down, and it kept straightening while I was working on it. It could only really be used well in one direction, too. If I tried to push in the other direction, it would start unscrewing itself from the pole pieces. In fact, several different ones would start to loosen as well.

It got really hard on the hands, too. I’ve been losing my grip strength for quite some time, and all my finger joints have osteoarthritis, so for me, that’s to be expected. Plus, after a while, that left shoulder of mine – the one I injured when I had my fall in the summer – was starting to really feel the strain.

Still, I was able to get some of the debris out. Once I got as much as I felt I could (no, I could not clear them completely), I moved over to do the long eavestrough on the East facing addition.

Which is when the septic guy arrived, so I paused to keep kittens away from the tank until he was done and the gate was closed.

It was while I was working on this second section that the brush broke, which you can see in the fourth picture.

*sigh*

I got the second one on and continued trying to clear the eavestrough.

Trying.

I did get some out, at least, but definitely not all of it. I’m not even sure if I got most of it out.

Then I got called in to take a phone call.

It was Meals on Wheels.

After hearing the message I left this morning and had contacted the Senior’s Centre to try and figure out what happened.

They called the wrong person.

There is someone else with a very similar name to my mother’s. Similar enough that she sometimes goes by the same name as my mother.

Just first names, of course, but that’s what they went by when they called my mother.

The fact that my name actually came up as the possible person that canceled my mother’s Meals on Wheels means that they did know who they were talking to – and yet, the woman who delivered my mother’s meal just an hour or so earlier was saying she had NOT delivered to my mother.

Whatever confusion there was, the Meals on Wheels lady got it straightened out. It was never my mother that they were supposed to call.

As soon as I found that out, I called my mother to let her know. It turned out she already knew. Her Meals on Wheels had been delivered and the same person had delivered it, so she passed on what happened. So that all got straightened out, thank God!

While talking to the woman from Meals on Wheels, she told me that my mother had called the Senior’s Center earlier and was saying something about my coming over to do bulk cooking for her. She actually thought that my mother had cancelled her home care lunch visits! I told her those had not been canceled, and took the opportunity to mention that my mother was starting to have cognitive issues. If they were to ever get any sort of call about her service, I asked them to please call me to confirm. I explained that, with the limitations on home care meal assists, these Meals on Wheels meals are the only complete meals my mother is getting. She completely understood.

Oh, dear.

Now that I’m writing this, I suddenly find myself wondering.

Could my mother have called home care, too, and cancelled her lunch visits, after I left?

*sigh*

Checking on that will have to wait until tomorrow, and I’m not going to be home for most of tomorrow!

After calling my mother and updating my siblings, it was back to cleaning the eavestroughs. In the last photo of the slide show above, you can see how it reaches the eavestrough. At that angle, it can’t get much of anything, so I keep having to bend it back to a sharper angle.

After that section was done, I moved to the side of the entryway, where this is rather short eavestrough. That one is the hardest to get at. The ground below is sloped more than other areas, which would be good for drainage, except that it slopes towards the well, so we really don’t want water getting under there at all. There is also a couple of rows of the enameled bricks we have all over the place – I remember them from when I was a kid, even – that I really want to remove and replace with gravel, as they are dangerously slippery. Access to the basement window is there as well. Basically, there are a lot of things in that corner that makes getting to the eavestrough very unsafe.

It also has a different design of eavestrough, made of galvanized steel instead of aluminum. The brush could actually get into it a bit better, and I was able to get out some very composted leave mold out of there.

I still couldn’t clean it out completely, though.

Finally, the last section to do was over the sun room. That one was actually pretty clear and didn’t take long.

I did go back and work on the East facing section and got more stuff out, but there was no way I’d be able to get it completely clear with this tool.

Still, what I was able to do was better than nothing!

So… would I recommend this tool?

No. Unless all you’ve got is very light material to clean out, it’s not the right tool for the job. It will get some debris out, but not all. It might be more useful if it were followed up by the type attached to a hose, to blast away the debris the brushes loosened.

The tendency for the joins to loosen is a pain. I could work around it, but I shouldn’t have to.

Having one of the brushes break so quickly wasn’t good, either. It was likely because I kept having to bend it back into a useable angle. At least the second one lasted until the job was done.

[Edit: I went back to the order and looked at the images of the product. In it, they showed the bristle portion being bent at 90° to reach into the cutter, not bending it where it joins the pole. In the box, it was already bent at the pole. I did actually try to bend the bristle portion instead of bending at the pole, and it simply would not bend. At least not with just my hands. Partially because the bristles made grasping it unwieldy. In the end, it just wouldn’t bend for me in the bristle portion.]

Still, I was able to get enough debris out that I think it should be good for the winter. It’s better than nothing, so I am glad I have it. There’s just one eavestrough I couldn’t do, and that’s on the second floor. Someone has to climb onto the roof over the new part of the house to clean it. With how high it is, it doesn’t get as much debris into it, at least.

Meanwhile, my husband needed to go into town soon to do some blood work before a telephone appointment he has with his doctor. Since I’m going to be away for most of tomorrow and the day after, it had to be done today.

So, I was soon on the road again, this time with my husband. The clinic his doctor is in is in the same building as the hospital and lab and Xray, so he could go to the reception desk for his doctor to pick up the requisition, then check in at the registration desk we passed along the way, then then wait until he was called into the lab around the corner. Very convenient!

He was hoping he felt well enough to stop at a restaurant somewhere afterwards, just to have some fries. When I message my daughters to let them know we might be longer, my older daughter offered to send funds for a full burger meal take out for everyone.

Of course, we accepted the generous offer!

Once my husband was done at the lab, we headed over to the DQ. My husband didn’t even try go get out of the truck, and just waited while I ran in to place our order. He has lost so much muscle mass on his legs, he was having difficulty getting in and out of the truck!

Aside from lack of physical activity due to pain, he’s been on Ozempic for years. The side effect of “weight loss” with that stuff isn’t loss of body fat, but loss of muscle mass. For someone who had always been so very athletic when he was able bodied, getting to the point where he has difficulty getting in and out of the truck is really frustrating for him. He actually stopped taking it a while ago, because his private insurance will only cover what they consider a “reasonable” dose, and his current doctor doubled his already high dose. That made it expensive to pick up, until the deductible for our province’s pharmacare insurance is paid. Then it’s covered 100%. He’s been off it so long that he’ll have to work himself up from a low dose again. Frankly, I don’t think he should be on it at all. He’s on it to help control his blood sugars, along with his slow acting insulin, but he’s in so much pain all the time, his blood sugars tend to be high, no matter what. Lots of things cause high blood sugar readings, not just diabetes. Things like chronic pain, sleep apnea, poor quality sleep and stress, and I’m pretty sure the doctor that originally put him on it thought it might help with weight loss, and we all know that losing weight is the magical cure for everything that ails you, right? /sarcasm. He was even told by a diabetic nurse, before his condition deteriorated to the point of permanent disability that, until he got his pain under control, he was not going to get his blood sugars under control.

His pain is not under control. It’s more like “just barely functioning” levels – and that’s with the maximum safe doses of his current pain medication. They’ve tried him on so many powerful painkillers, and most of them just take the edge off. Meanwhile, his blood sugars haven’t really changed, even on such a high doze of Ozempic and, while he’s losing muscle mass, he has had zero change in weight. He’s had some of the other side effects of Ozempic, and they are decidedly unpleasant.

That’s no way to live, but when you’re on such powerful painkillers and they’re not really working, doctors start looking at you and thinking you’re making it up, or it’s all in your head, because it can’t possibly be because they’re failing at finding a way to help. My husband, meanwhile, has basically given up. It’s been so long, and he’s seen so many doctors and specialists, in two different provinces, and this province really sucks compared to where we lived before when it comes to healthcare. At least living here is less stressful than when we were living in a housing co-op in the city.

Today, however, was the first time he actually got out of the house for any length of time, since the last time he had to get some blood work done.

Bonus on our daughter treating us to take out. Both of the girls have been having a rough time the past few days, though for different reasons. Especially my younger daughter. She’s been caning it a lot lately.

It still seems to strange that I’m the most able bodied person in the household now.

…

… I say, as I can feel the entire left side of my body starting to stiffen up.

Time to grab some food so I can take my anti-inflammatories and probably a painkiller, too.

Being broken sucks. Still, I was able to get quite a bit done today, and I’m happy with that. Even if the new tool I got doesn’t quite live up to expectations. It really has been a good day, overall! We have much to be thankful for.

The Re-Farmer

A day in the city, and a cheeky thief!

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Today was my day to get into the city for my appointment with the sports injury clinic about my hip.

I had a really rough and sleepless night. Not because of my hip this time, but I kept waking up and just generally couldn’t settle in. As dawn approached, I messaged my daughters, who both ended up awake all night, and asked them to take care of the morning routine for me, so I could try and get more sleep. I didn’t want to be driving to the city feeling the way I did.

They were sweethearts and took care of the entire morning routine for me, from feeding the cats to switching out the memory cards on the trail cams, to all the yard and garden checks.

My appointment was for 1pm, and I made sure to check the maps for the address. It turned out to be well within the area we normally do our not-Costco shopping. My landmark was a Shell gas station that seemed to share a driveway with the clinic, from what I could see on the satellite map.

Still, I ended up leaving about 2 hours before the appointment, even though it would take only a little more than an hour to drive there.

I am so glad I did!

As I was heading out and reached the first highway, there was an ambulance, lights on but no siren, that turned towards the north of us. A short distance away, I could see the vehicles of volunteer fire fighters at the fire station, and the fire truck was gone. On the other side of town, there were a couple of police vehicle, sirens and lights going, rushing through.

When I got to the next highway, I paused at a case station to pick up an energy drink and a sandwich (made by the restaurant in our little hamlet) for “breakfast”, and messaged my family. They kept tabs on the news, but nothing came up. Hopefully, whatever happened, no one was seriously harmed.

The highway I took into the city turned into the street that went past the clinic I needed to go to, so no turning or side trips needed.

Almost.

When I reached the Shell station, I went past and turned at the next entry, trying to find a street number, somewhere. I ended up driving around a building and, on the side facing the gas station, finally saw a sign over a door, saying “medical clinic and mall entrance”. That entire side of the building was all grey concrete, with a few service doors along the way. You really needed to want to find this place to get there!

I went in and the inside was just as bleak. Nothing but narrow hallways with lots of doors. The doors all had signs for different businesses, with some saying “employees only”. Eventually, I reached a door that actually had the street address on it.

It was a different address.

???

I headed back out and went into the Shell station, and asked the guy behind the counter. I gave the address I was after, and the name of the clinic, but all he could tell me is what his own address was and point vaguely further down the street.

*sigh*

So, off I went again and continued down the street until…

I passed another Shell station.

I’ve gone down this street so many times, but only really paid attention to where I needed to go. I had no idea there were two Shell stations so close together.

This one, however, had a very new looking building with a big sign and the name of the clinic. I swear, it wasn’t there the last time I drove this far.

I also drove right past it. Missed the entrance completely.

I was able to turn around and go back fairly easily but, again, you really had to want to find this place! The building may have been well marked, but the entry and exit lanes were very hard to see.

Then, there was finding the right door. It turns out this place has several related clinics in it, plus a pharmacy with a drive through (very unusual in our neck of the woods).

By the time I got to the right place, I was only 10 or so minutes early.

They did take me in a bit late, but not by much. The first person to see me was not the main doctor. He introduced me to himself with his first name only, telling me he was an orthopedic surgeon from China. Since he had just given me a very English name to us, I’m guessing his real name is hard for English speakers to pronounce! Much like my previous doctor who used his initials as his name.

This doctor started off by asking all sorts of questions to try and get a bead on why I was there.

By the time he was done, he seemed a bit perplexed. The thing that seemed to make it more difficult to figure out is that the hip troubles I’m having only really happen when I lie down to try and sleep. The more I try to relax, the worse the pain. It’s actually been a lot better lately, but it’s not gone away.

After a lot of questions and discussion, and looking at my file (for some reason, my most recent X-rays didn’t come up; just the report), he left to consult with the doctor my appointment was with. Then he came back with more questions before leaving again to consult with the doctor.

The doctor I was booked with swung by a short time later, apologizing for the wait (which I really didn’t notice as a problem) and said he just had to finish with another patient, and then he would be back to talk with me.

When he came back and we started talking, he was able to give me a diagnosis. GTPS. Greater Trochanteric Pain Syndrome. In looking it up, I can see why there was some confusion. My pain is really, really localized, and it happens only at certain times. My thought is that the anti-inflammatories I’m on, as low a dose as it is, helps with most of the symptoms that I would normally be feeling, or feeling more acutely, and now it’s just that hip joint that the anti-inflammatories aren’t enough to help with.

The other doctor had already given the area a physical exam, plus he also had me doing a number of range of motion tests. I had no issues with range of motion at all. During the physical exam at one point, he had me lying on my back, got me to lift one leg at a time, while he pressed down on my thigh. I was to resist his pushing my leg down as much as I could. He wasn’t able to push my leg down. When I got up from that, he commented that I had a lot of muscle.

The primary doctor got me on the table again, too, but he focused on finding the exact area in my hip to work on. That location would be the site for an injection. At first, as he poked and prodded, it was no big deal, but then he found THE spot. WOW did that ever hurt! Worse, he kept having to poke and prod around the area to find where the pain was the most acute.

Ouch.

That done, he explained the situation and that they could try a steroid injection. Which is exactly what my regular doctor and I were expecting. He wanted to know if I could come back tomorrow, or if I was okay to wait to get it done today. I told him, it’s a long drive, so I’m more than willing to wait to get it done today!

That decided, he had another patient to see before he could come back. While I was waiting, the first doctor came back to check on me and make sure everything was all right.

I didn’t have all that long to wait, really, and I was able to update my family on things. When the doctor came back, he made sure to go through all the usual disclaimers, then got me up on the table again. More poking and prodding to find the right location. He actually inserted the needle at one point, without doing the injection, and I didn’t even feel it compared to how much the poking and prodding hurt, when he hit that “sweet spot”. He ended up moving the needle to a different location before finally giving the injection. He told me it would take a while for the anesthetic to kick in, but there still might be pain in the injection location later on. I was also warned that there might be a “rebound” affect, where the area might actually hurt more before it starts feeling better.

He wanted to do a follow up with me in two weeks. Looking at my calendar, I asked if 4 weeks would be okay. In the end, he said he didn’t need me to actually come in, in person, and we could do a phone appointment in 2 weeks, instead. Which was just fine by me!

All in all, I was really happy with how things went. I now have a name for what’s going on with my hip and, hopefully, the steroid injection will make the difference. For some people, it doesn’t help at all, for others, it helps, but by how much is really an individual thing.

That done, I made the telephone appointment and headed out. I had a couple more places to go to.

My first stop was a Canadian Tire. I remembered to bring a paint sample for the colour of the isolation shelter. The exposed wood on it needs to be painted before winter, plus I want to pain the wind/snow break box that fits in front of the door when it’s open at its winter location.

Unfortunately, the piece of painted wood I brought as a sample wasn’t smooth enough. The colour matching machine “saw” it as a grey. So the paint person and I went looking at the colour samples and found one that was pretty close, and she tinted a gallon for me.

When she opened it up afterwards, though, we were both pretty surprised. The purple was a LOT darker than it should have been. She checked and double checked, and she had all the inputs and base paint correct. Yet the result was a darker purple than any of their samples!

After talking about it, we decided on another shade that we had been choosing between. It’s lighter, but not by much. When she tinted another gallon of paint, this one worked out and matched the colour sample. It’ll look a bit darker when dry, but will still be lighter than the original. It’s just for the cat isolation shelter, though, so it’s not like it’s meant for anything fancy. It’ll be close enough!

That done, I also picked up a large bag of kibble for the inside cats, some wood screws I needed, and a quick release hose connector repair kit. I also went looking and found a “calming” spray for the cats. We’ve got a lot of problems with some of them pissing outside of the litter boxes and other places – that’s why we go through so many puppy pads – which is likely stress related. I’ve been looking at pheromone diffusers, too, but all they had here was the spray. I decided it was worth a try.

I was able to pay for all this with my Canadian Tire dollars, so nothing at all came out of budget.

My next stop was the Walmart nearby. My husband gave me his card, a budget and a shopping list that included another bag of kibble for the inside cats. We should be set for the month for both inside and outside cats now. Along with a few grocery items, I ended up getting another box of moon cakes, very different from the last ones I got. The Autumn Festival is over now, so they were on clearance. I snagged a package of chestnuts, too, because they were also on clearance. I love chestnuts, but I seem to be the only one in the household that likes them!

With all this walking around, I did have some issues with my left hip after a while. Not pain, but it did feel… unstable. I used shopping cards as if they were walkers and was limping but, overall, the hip and injection site were feeling pretty good.

The shopping done, I was soon on my way home. By then, it was late enough that I asked my daughters to do the evening outside cat feeding, too.

When I got home, I was going to pull up to the house to unload, forgetting the vehicle gate to the inner yard was still closed. I don’t think we need to worry about that heifer getting through the outer yard fence again, and if he does, I really don’t think he’d wander into the inner yard, all by himself. Too far from the rest of the herd. I’ve left the gate open with that in mind. Hopefully, we won’t find ourselves with cows in the inner yard tomorrow! 😄

After everything was put away and I had my supper, I decided to head outside to walk around before it got dark. I brought out the hose repair kit and cut off the leaking and of a hose at the tap, only to discover…

I bought a quick release connector kit. Not a repair and quick release kit. I ended up having to switch hoses so I could still reach to water the winter and summer squash, until I can get the proper kit to replace the hose end I’d cut off! At least I was able to water what needed to be watered.

While I was outside still, my phone gave me a notification for a voice mail message.

It didn’t ring, of course.

Yes, it was home care again.

This time, it wasn’t to let me know about a cancellation, though! The person who was to see my mother for her bed time med assist was having vehicle troubles, and would my mother be okay if she came in almost an hour early, instead?

This time, the scheduler actually left a phone number, so I went in to use the land line to call back. I tried to listen to the message again to get the number, but I couldn’t access voice mail. Apparently, my number isn’t “registered” (I’m having no end of troubles with wi-fi calling!) and I had to go back outside to get enough data signal to listen to the message again and get the number. I had the land line handset with me and tried to call.

It failed. Twice.

Finally, on the third try, I got through.

It rang, then went straight to voice mail. The voice mail with the message saying no one would be checking the messages outside of office hours.

Why ask me to call back, if I can’t get through to a person, and any message I leave wouldn’t be listened to until the next day?

Still, I left a quick message confirming early visits to my mother was okay, then I called my mother.

After how terrible the call went the last time I talked to her, this one was actually almost pleasant! I had interrupted her evening prayers and was going to make it short, but she was talkative and kept me on the phone. I finally was able to end the call because the med assist was supposed to arrive.

That done, I was finally able to go back outside to finish my walkabout – this time with a flashlight, because it was full dark!

I heard some strange noises as soon as I came out. Noises from the shrive feeding station.

I chased away the skunk, then saw something moving in the isolation shelter.

I found this bugger!

Yup. That’s a raccoon in the cat bed! It had been at the empty food bowl when I first came over, then went to “hide” in the cat bed.

What cheek!

I did get it out, but it was really a moot point by then. There was no kibble left, anyhow.

Then I went and chased the skunk out of the sun room.

Once I was done my walkabout and settled at my computer, I got the live feed to the critter cam open. Since then, I’ve had to chase both skunks and raccoons out of the sun room, several times!

Greedy buggers.

It’s been getting really, really hard to get in and out through the old kitchen door into the sun room, lately. Frank’s three littles, plus a couple other really tiny kittens, all make a mad rush for the old kitchen door. They want in, so badly!! I really hope there’s a rescue out there than can take Frank and her babies. The new rescue we’re working with is putting feelers out, I’m told, so we’ll see.

Anyhow. That’s how the day went today. As I write this, I can say that my hip is feeling a lot better now. Tonight will be the first litmus test, though.

I might even be able to sleep on my left side and not wake up in massive pain for a change!

That would be pretty awesome!

The Re-Farmer

Morning in the garden, and good grief, what a day

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It’s the noon hour as I start this, and it’s already been a day!!! It feels like it should be evening by now.

Morning was pretty typical. I had to get my daughter to help me with getting into the sun room as kittens swirled their way through the door under my feet. My main focus is to not step on anything while holding the kibble bowl high so I can see. Once I got some food out, my daughter was able to put a food bowl of fresh kitten soup into the cat cage, was wasn’t able to take the old one out, as she was in a vortex of hungry kitties! By the time I got back from adding food to the different feeding stations in the yard, things had calmed down. My daughter and I had the chance to snag Frank’s two babies that had sticky eyes – one had both eyes stuck shut, the other just one eye – into the bathroom to wash their eyes until they could open again.

Then I could do the rest of my rounds and check on the garden bed. I’m glad we did water it last night, as the predicted storms and rain we were supposed to get yesterday fizzled out and we got no real rain at all.

The first photo above is of the blooming luffa. One by one, male flowers in different clusters are blooming. Still no female flowers. Not that it matters at this point. It’s the middle of September. Under normal circumstances, we’d have fully developed luffa gourds right now.

I had a surprise when I got to the trellis bed. The one sunflower seed head that was opening up has gotten much bigger, just overnight. This particular sunflower also has multiple seed heads, two of which just exploded open overnight! I tried to get a picture of all the seed heads that are starting to open along the stalk and did get most of them. In the third picture, you can see four along the stalk, but there’s a fifth one hidden by a leaf at the bottom that is also starting to open.

In the next picture, you can see our first aster flower bud has finally opened! The package of memorial seeds these are from had a mixture, if I remember correctly, so I expect different colours from the others I see forming buds.

In the last photo, we have our “just for today” harvest. There was a handful of beans to pick this morning, along with a single zucchini. I decided to go ahead and harvest the last of the kohlrabi. The remaining plants don’t seem to be forming their… bulbs? … at all. I also grabbed a few Swiss Chard leaves.

There was one wonky purple kohlrabi that I decided to use right away in my breakfast, along with the chard leaves and stalks and a small Turkish Orange eggplant that I’d harvested previously. Those got stir fried to go along with some leftovers.

I didn’t peel the eggplant, partly because I’d picked such a small one. I did find the peels to be a bit on the bitter side.

My older daughter had used one to include in her stir fry last night. I’d gone to bed before she was done, so when I was talking to my younger daughter this morning, I asked how it turned out.

She told me, her sister had had to throw it away.

????!!!!

They may her lips go numb! They were the only new thing in her stir fry, so they were the only thing that could have been causing it. We’ve eaten eggplant before and she’s never reacted to any of them before, but those were the more typical purple varieties. The Turkish Orange is very different. Being so different is why I got the seeds to try.

I had no such reaction. I just found the skins bitter. Very strange! It does mean that we won’t be growing this variety again, though.

As I was setting down with my own breakfast, I noticed I had a phone message.

From home care.

Thankfully, it was NOT a call for me to come in. My mother’s med assist for this morning was scheduled for 8:50, and I was getting the message at past 9:30. The message was to let me know that there had been a last minute cancellation. They did find someone else to cover the med assist, but it would be much later; perhaps 9:45.

I called my mother right away to let her know. When she answered, she mentioned she was making her breakfast at the time, but didn’t say anything about no one showing up to do her meds. I told her about the message I got and when to expect someone to come. It was almost that time, so it was a short phone call.

That done, I finished my breakfast and was starting to upload the photos for this post on Instagram when my younger daughter came over to talk about what to work on today. She decided that this would be the day to do work on the yard and garden tools. So, for the next while, she got her supplies set up on the bench under the canopy tent while I gathered the various things that needed to be worked on. Some needing repairs, as well. It’ll probably take her a couple of days to work through them all.

After she was all set up (and we paused to wash kitten eyes again!) and working on cleaning and sharpening various cutting tools, I headed back in to work on this blog post. I got a message from my daughter who remembered there were some tools in the basement that needed to be worked on. Since I hadn’t started writing yet, I headed down right away to look for them. I knew I’d put all the ones that needed work into one container, but couldn’t find the container – in fact, I couldn’t even remember what container I’d put them in (it turned out to be an old plastic lunch box. 😄) – when the phone started ringing.

I was expecting an important call, so I started heading upstairs, promptly losing my slippers as I rushed up the stairs. The answering machine picked up before I got to the phone, and I heard my mother’s voice starting to rant at the machine.

I picked up the phone while she was doing that. It turned out she had tried to call my sister, first, and there was no answer, so when she called me and it went to machine, she was really upset. Was my sister gone on holidays already? She’s supposed to be gone for two weeks… I told her, I knew nothing about this. (This is the time of year for her church’s harvest feast – one of only two “Biblical” holidays they’re allowed to celebrate – but she’s not mentioned anything about it to me.)

My mother then started telling me how badly she was feeling. She was dying. She’d used the life line and talked to the responder, who asked her what she wanted them to do. She said, they kept asking what she wanted them to do until she finally told them to just leave her alone.

…

I told her, the proper response would have been to have them call an ambulance if she were feeling that badly!

She didn’t want an ambulance. She didn’t want the hassle (I can’t blame her for that!). She would need to someone to get her bag (her prepared hospital bag), her purse, and if she’s in the hospital “they” will come in and steal her stuff.

???

I told her that if she’s really feeling that bad, have the Lifeline call an ambulance (911 seems to be too much for my mother to grasp), and the paramedics could make sure to grab her prepared bags.

No, she doesn’t want strangers. She needs us (me and my siblings). She needs someone around her all the time. She relies on us…

I told her, we can’t live with her! What did she want me to do for her?

She had no answer. She just kept on about how poorly she is doing, how hard it is to do things, and her breathing. She needs someone with her. She needs to be in a nursing home.

But she doesn’t want to go to the hospital. She relies on us… then she started trying to rag on about my brother; he doesn’t call, he doesn’t visit. They’ve actually just gone through a rather scary health emergency with my SIL while she was out of province, but they don’t want to tell my mother about it. My mother handles such information very badly and can be downright cruel. They just got back home today and my brother immediately had to go to work to take part in a couple of important meetings. His job is in internet security at an international level. This is at a level even I have a hard time grasping, it’s so above my pay grade, so to speak. Not something my mother can even begin to understand. I did tell her that he was at an important meeting right now, but added that we did arrange to come out to her place on Sunday, as she requested. I’d forgotten to mention it when I called her this morning.

That mollified her somewhat. She told me that she would “be brave” and hold out until Sunday.

*sigh*

What I told her I would do is call the home care office for her town as soon as I got off the phone with her. I’d let them know that my mother’s condition is deteriorating. All the home care coordinator can do, however, is update the files with this information and send it up the chain. It’s another department that makes the decisions on whether someone can go into a nursing home or assisted living facility. I had to remind my mother about how shocked her doctor was that they hadn’t already approved her for a nursing home.

I wish I’d thought of it at the time, but if my mother did decide to go to go to the hospital, that might be just the thing that would finally get her into a nursing home, like she wants. That’s the typical way it works; a person ends up in the hospital with a broken hip or something, and only then do they get to go to a nursing home from the hospital. My father was an exception. He was getting home care three times a day, but his care included things like helping him use the toilet, bathing and even eating. A hospital bed was set up in the living room next to the window, so he could see outside, with a commode nearby, because he could no longer take the two steps between the old and new parts of the house to get to the bathroom. It was the home care aids that said he’d reached a point where they could no longer provide the care he needed, and that got him into a nursing home right away. Six months later, he passed away.

It is so incredibly frustrating. My mother should not be living on her own. She insists that she can still cook and dress and bath and toilet herself, when I really don’t think she should be. Every time home care offers what they can for her, she turns it down.

Among my siblings, none of us are able to have her live with us and give her the care she needs. None of us have accessible enough housing, even if we did. She is struggling, but refuses to make the decisions she needs to be making. She expects everyone else to make those decisions which, in many cases, they aren’t even allowed to make on her behalf. This is not a new thing; she’s always been one to deflect responsibility to others. It’s just gotten more extreme as she gets older.

Anyhow.

After telling my mother I would call the home care coordinator as soon as I got off the phone with her, my mother kept me on the phone for another few minutes. I finally had to get almost rude to get off the phone so I could make the call!

By then, it was past noon, and she was probably on lunch. I got her voice mail and left a message about my mother’s condition deteriorating.

That done, I updated my siblings on our group chat, then went back to looking for the tools my daughter had asked for – and retrieve my slippers. The box I was looking for turned out to be on a shelf right at the bottom of the steps. I’d put it there specifically so it would be easy to find!

So I brought that out to my daughter and updated her, since all I was able to do was sent a message that I’d gotten a call from my mother and needed to make more calls.

Updating her also gave me a chance to catch my breath.

Now that I’m almost done this, I’ll soon be going into town to pick up prescription refills for my husband. I’m still half expecting a call, but if it hasn’t come in by now, it probably won’t. While in town, while I’ve got a strong data signal, I’ll have to try and set my phone up for Wi-Fi calling again. I can’t even get text messages right now. Which is a pain when I try to log into my bank account on my desktop. They don’t do it on my phone, but if I use my desktop, they always want me to input a code. Every. Time. I try to log in. The problem is, by the time the texted code gets to my phone, the log in session is expired. Sometimes, if I go outside and walk around the yard, it’ll come in faster, but I’m not always in a position to do that.

Frustrating.

Ah, well. It is what it is.

Time to get ready to head into town!

The Re-Farmer

Kitten fix, and medical appointment

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First, the cuteness!

While doing my morning rounds, three kittens were playing on the hand rail in front of the sun room – but did not what me anywhere near them! They know that rose bush will protect them. 😄

The third image of the garage kittens was from this evening. I went to tie off the catio door for the night, so it won’t blow around. I didn’t even seen them in the cat bed at first! I wasn’t able to get closer, though. I was able to pet them both when I fed them this morning, while they were eating, but that smokey one will not let me touch her, any other time.

Yet.

The littles are all over the place in and around the sun room, and I was able to get a couple of decent shots. That white and black kitten in the last two images has such surprisingly blue eyes!

Sadly, though, we lost another kitten last night. Once again, I found it in the new cat cave in the sun room, like the last one. About the only thing I can say is, at least they passed away in the warmth of a cuddle puddle, and not cold and alone.

Once the morning routing was done, I had time for a quick breakfast before heading out early to my appointment. I wasn’t sure how long things would be, so I made sure to go to the post office before it closed from 11:30am to 2pm. They close for the day at 5pm.

Then, just to be on the safe side, I made sure the packages of seeds were put into an insulated bag, in case the cab of the truck got too hot. I’m glad I did, because yes, it certainly did!

I got to the shopping commons the clinic is at early enough to grab a proper meal for lunch. I’m glad I did because I ended up getting into my 1:30 appointment about 45 minutes late.

The first thing the doctor did was ask how the new prescription was working out. I told what a huge difference it made, and that I’ve hardly had to take any painkillers since I started taking it. She was really happy to hear how well it went. Especially when I told her I have only been taking it once a day, before bed. She commented that I’m already on a low dose (I can take it up to three times a day), so it was really amazing that it’s made such a difference. She commented on how this particular anti-inflammatory is really good, and she thinks it should be prescribed more often. I did mention the one time I took with with just a snack rather than a meal and how that really did a number on my stomach. She was just nodding her head and saying, yup… it does need to be taken with a full meal, because it can be so hard on the stomach, otherwise, and mused that that’s perhaps why it isn’t use more often. All I can say it, it has helped me so much, I’m willing to make the effort to take it properly so that doesn’t happen!

I then told her about my hip issues and asked for X-rays to find out what’s going on. She looked in my file and it’s been more than 5 years since my hips have been X-rayed, so it was time. We already know that I have OA and bone spurs, but something is going on with that left hip that’s making it worse. She wrote me up for a complete pelvic X-ray, so both hips would be checked out.

Then we got to why I was there in the first place. My arm.

I was able to read the report on her monitor with her. They found no anomalies in my shoulder or elbow. Which surprised me, because they do still hurt at times. Especially the shoulder. Which suggests to me that the issue is now soft tissue damage – though the anti-inflammatories are helping with the arm pain, too!

Then there was the hand/wrist. There was a potential anomaly, so they recommended to get it X-rayed again in 1-2 weeks. We were already past that, so she printed out another requisition to get my wrist done again, along with my hips.

As for the follow up, normally they would call me to book a follow up appointment, but I mentioned that my daughter already has an appointment coming up on the 9th, so she said to go ahead and book my follow up then. Which I took care of while picking up my printouts.

Next stop was the hospital, where the lab and X-ray is. Once I gave them the forms, I had time to message the family with an update, and was soon called in for the X-rays. The tech took X-rays of my hand in some very different positions from the last time it was done. At this point, all they can do is confirm whether or not something actually broke in there. After all this time since my fall, it’s not like they’re going to put my wrist in a cast or anything.

Once the hand was done, I got the hips done, and that was it. It was very fast.

That done, it was back to the shopping commons where my doctor’s clinic is, this time to make a quick stop at the grocery store. I hadn’t realized we were out of bread until last night. While I was there, I picked up some sandwich meats that were on sale, and a few other little things.

From there, it was a stop at the gas station and the home.

When I was about 10 minutes from home, I could see the highway ahead of me, disappearing in a cloud of white. It turned out to be an absolute wall of rain! It was coming down hard enough, with so much water on the road, I had to slow down and was about ready to pull over and wait it out. It did lift a bit, though, and I was able to continue. By the time I got home, it had blown over – something I was very happy about, since I needed to get out to open the gate. Particularly since, with the inside handle on the driver’s side door broken off, I need to open the window so I can open the door from the outside.

No complaints about the rain, though. We needed it.

Anyhow.

So all went well with the doctor, though I am surprised nothing showed up in the X-rays for my shoulder and elbow. The shoulder injury it still sometimes an issue, and I was expecting some sort of damage to my rotator cuff. My left elbow has been a problem for a long time, since well before my fall, but that is due to nerve damage, so I guess that wouldn’t show up in an X-ray.

In a couple of weeks or so, I will be back to find out what they find in my hips.

That should be… interesting! I hope I get to actually see the X-rays this time, and not just a report. I’m very curious as to what shows up!

Meanwhile, it is now past time for me to have the supper my daughter made – a nice, substantial meal to take my anti-inflammatories with!

The Re-Farmer