This is the “surprise bag” of yarn that I’d ordered. It’s supposed to be enough for 3 pairs of socks. I had also ordered two skeins of “festive feet” Christmas coloured sparkle yarn. The one in this bag just happened to be the same as what I got separately. I had ordered two in this same colourway, thinking one skein per sock. Seeing that this package is meant to give 3 pairs of socks and has only one skein of this yarn, that means the one skein is enough for one basic pair of socks. Altogether, that means I got enough yarn for 5 pairs. Probably more, because I am asking my daughter to knit me some ankle socks, not tall socks.
Yes, these are for my daughter to knit socks for me. I don’t knit. I crochet. Socks can be made in crochet, and I’ve made custom socks for people in the past, but nothing using actual sock yarn. My daughter has been making herself socks in 100% wool and having a blast. They work great for her needs, but will wear out and get holes faster than sock yarn. Sock yarn contains a minimum percentage of manmade fibres specifically to combat wear and tear, so they last longer.
She is finishing off a pair of socks for herself right now, and then she will start making me some sparkly ankle socks.
She’s going to be a pro at turning a heel by the time she’s done making me several pairs! I don’t expect her to make 5 pairs right away, though!
I’m going to have sparkly socks to go along with my sparkly hat collection.
I also got some mirrors and reflective embroider thread. I plan to be making Christmas decorations with shisha mirrors. It’s been a long time since I’ve done sisha embroidery. Long before things like YouTube tutorials were available!
The mirrors I got are round craft mirrors, not thinner, hand cut mirrors typically sold for shisha embroidery.
If I’m going to be stuck inside with enforced low activity levels, I figure it’s a good time to break out my crafting materials and start making things again. If I can make enough (not just shisha embroidery) to sell at the local annual Christmas craft market in November, I’ll give that a try, too.
Speaking of enforced low activity levels, today was an odd day. It wasn’t a bad pain day, and the bleeding was not any worse. I took my morning pain killers along with my regular meds and supplements, at the 6 hour scheduled time as usual, then went back to bed. Before long, I started feeling bizarrely dizzy. Just turning my head a bit while lying down was enough to trigger dizziness strong enough to make me feel nauseous! This is a known side effect with the Percocet, but I’d never had anything like this before. I suspected it might have been because I took them on an empty stomach, and I was feeling quite hungry. It took a while, but I managed to get up and reheat some food my daughters had made for breakfast, and I did feel better afterwards.
When it came time to take my afternoon scheduled Percocet, I took a half dose and not on an empty stomach.
I still got really dizzy.
I was at my computer when my daughter came by to talk to me before going to get the mail. It had been more than half an hour since I took my half dose of afternoon painkillers, and the dizziness was hitting me hard. Hard enough that I actually had to get my daughter to help me get into bed and lie down!
Thankfully, it did fade away and I was eventually able to get outside for some fresh air, though the girls had to do the evening outside cat feeding. Oddly, it’s now been almost 2 hours since I took my evening dose, along with my regular evening meds and supplements and, as I write this, I’m feeling increasingly dizzy.
So… maybe it’s not the Percocet? I don’t know what else it would be, though.
Well, I’ve got only one dose left in this trial prescription. Then I’m back on the T3s. We’ll see if that makes a difference, over the next few days.
Meanwhile, I would like to start planning out some embroidered Christmas ornaments with shisha embroidery!
Oh, on a completely different note, I was rather impressed with Amazon. We had made a claim to get a refund on that office chair my husband ordered back in July, just yesterday evening. This morning I checked, and it listed the claim and refund was done! That was really fast. I’m rathe impressed.
Now we need to figure out where and how to get my husband another chair that will meet his needs!
Pain levels kept increasing earlier than usual, with no physical activity that typically triggers it. I ended up spending most of the day in bed, which was incredibly frustrating.
A couple of things of note, though. First, the good stuff.
I did head out not long ago to do the evening cat feeding outside. More because I just couldn’t handle the inactivity anymore. Of course, I walked around a bit and checked on the garden beds.
The Black Russian sunflowers at the chain link fence bed are mostly blooming, and very busy with bumblebees!
The Mammoth sunflowers seed heads are still very small, but some of the plants are now easily 7′ tall. Hard to say if we’ll get anything out of them.
Checking the tomato bed, there are plenty of Orange Currant tomatoes to pick, but I did not have a container for them. Same with the beans. I’ve asked my daughters to do those later. I checked on the Blueberry tomatoes, which are supposed to stay a dark colour with light blossom ends. Some of them felt soft and ripe, so I picked them.
I won’t be taste testing them myself – I’m willing to try with something tiny like the Orange Currant tomatoes or Spoon tomatoes, but just thinking of eating a normal sized, fresh tomato – even smaller ones like this – makes my stomach churn. Odd, that.
I didn’t take a photo, but I pulled the Gigenthemum poppy plants with their fully dry pods and set them on the curing frame near the tomatoes I picked yesterday.
By that point, I needed to get indoor and sit down again.
*sigh*
On another note…
Back in July, my husband ordered himself a new office chair through Amazon. A bariatric chair that can double as a sleep chair, if necessary. Only after placing the order did it tell us that tracking wasn’t supported by the delivery company. It did have a delivery date in August. A long time, but okay. We’ve had that before, and things would still show up at the general store the post office is in. Frustrating, but not something we were too concerned about. Once things arrived, we’d at least see it chance to having been delivered.
What we didn’t know is that the seller had tried to contact us. My husband never got the messages (the system should have sent him emails about them). After the delivery date passed, my husband was going to get a refund, but never got a verification on that.
Which is when I looked around and found the messages from the seller. One saying there was a problem and asking for an alternate address. Basically, they could not deliver to a post office (so why was the PO box address accepted? That happens pretty often) and needed a physical address. So I answered on behalf of my husband.
There were some messages back and forth and we finally got a Purolator tracking number. That lead to “shipping label created”, and never changed. After a while, I sent another message to the seller telling them that, according to Purolator, they don’t have the parcel. I told them that if there was a problem with the address (Purolator delivers to the general store but not to our physical address), they could use the physical address for the general store.
I got a message back saying they would contact the delivery company with the new info. Not long after, I got another tracking number, saying the package was in transit, and an apology for the delay. I responded to that, and then we waited some more.
And waited.
Purolator tracking still said “shipping label created” and never changed.
This morning, I tried to contact Purolator about it but all the system could tell me was there was only a shipping label created. They don’t have the package.
So I messaged the seller again, telling them this and saying that, at this point, we want a refund.
Some time later, my husband forwarded an email to me from Amazon.
My message could not be delivered, as “The seller associated with your order or inquiry has left the Amazon store or is no longer able to receive any further email communications.” Then it gave a link to request an A-Z Claim.
Which is when I gave up on being bedridden and went looking.
According to the Amazon listing, the seller is still there, the chair is still available, and even on sale now.
I went through the claim process, copy and pasting the email from Amazon about the seller no longer receiving messages, and saying we wanted a refund. My husband has already gotten a response from Amazon, and they are looking into it.
Hopefully, that means he’ll soon get his refund and we can look into buying a chair from somewhere else. With his current chair, he got some extra life out of it by replacing the wheels, but it’s still breaking down. He can’t sit normally on a chair, so he really need something that can handle extra wear and tear.
The problem is, finding something that works for him off line is almost impossible. Mobility aid places don’t carry office chairs, and office supply places don’t tend to keep specialty bariatric chairs in stock. You can only order them online – and they can be mind bogglingly expensive. An actual sleep chair is a completely different design unsuitable for his space and needs.
Things were all right in the morning. After taking my morning painkillers, I went out to join my daughter during the cat feeding.
We did not get any kittens. They are still very skittish, and the older cats kept pushing their way in for the cat soup, even though they got some in the other food bowls. I tried distracting Sweetie with the cat toy but she was too hungry to be distracted, and insists on eating at the shrine feeding station, where the kittens come through the chain link fence. As today was supposed to be another day or rain and potential storms, we put the carrier and bait bowl back into the catio, with the regular food bowl set to keep the door from closing by accident, and let the kittens be for now.
I had brought my walker out so, after my daughter went inside, I went around the yard and checked on the garden beds. I found both winter and summer squash that I could hand pollinate. We should have some yellow zucchini large enough to harvest soon, and some of the green scallop squash. We might get more of the Early Prolific Straightneck squash, but there are still no yellow pattypans or lemon squash. Interestingly, I think one of the squash that were thinned by transplanting might be a lemon squash. The tiniest of round, yellow female flower buds are showing up and I don’t think they are pattypans.
In the main garden area, I just had to get a picture of a monster.
The first image above is of a carrot from the Rainbow Mix that has gone to seed. It is remarkably huge and sturdy! Normally, carrots don’t go into seed until their second year, but I don’t mind having one that I can save seed from.
The second image of the slide show above shows what’s left of the Daikon radish. The flea beetles not only denuded the stems of leaves, but they even ate a lot of the pods, too! There are still pods left, but nowhere near as many as before. Enough to collect seeds from, though, if they were not too badly damaged.
Once back inside, I was feeling well enough to have breakfast before trying to lie down for a bit. When I got up again, I was able to make a lunch using some leftover brisket, with potatoes and bush beans from the garden, to make a stew.
While I was cooking, I heard some noises outside the kitchen window. My brother was leveling the ground where the tree and patio blocks had been. He had to dig up some remarkable thick roots that were buried under where some patio blocks where. He also had to remove some of the soil along the edge of where the blocks would be so that it was lower than the blocks, instead of higher. He levels a block in the corner between the house and the concrete steps so it wasn’t draining towards the house as well, and the blocks along the outside edge were sloped slightly to drain away from the house. He ended up filling our wheelbarrow completely with dirt and detritus he’d removed. Probably the heaviest load it’s ever had. Which would have been fine, except the tire turned out to be flat! I had come out to talk to him and, as he pushed the wheelbarrow from the grass onto the sidewalk, I was able to see the flat. All he could tell is that it wasn’t rolling right. He’s checked the tire before and couldn’t see a valve, so he thought it was a solid rubber tire. He did find the valve, but it had been partially pushed in from lack of air. He assured me he’s take care of it and told me to go back inside. Later on, I saw that he had also loaded all the old hot water tanks and pumps into his little trailer. They’ll be taken to the scrap yard another time.
By the time I finished cooking, the painkillers had definitely worn off. After lunch, I took them when the 6 hour alarm went off and tried to stay up longer, but eventually had to lie down again. Frustrating when it becomes difficult just sitting upright in a chair. *sigh*
I did manage to get a basement check in. I had to turn on a couple of the fans. One, aimed at the well pump and pressure tank because there was so much condensation dripping, it was creating a puddle. The other more in the new basement, more for air circulation and humidity levels. The recent rain, which is still sort of happening now, hasn’t been enough to cause problems in the basements.
I was also able to head outside and do the evening cat feeding. Some of the skunks are getting quite brazen! As I was setting up some bowls with cat milk in the kibble, specifically for the kittens (with extra to draw the adult cats away), I heard a commotion. I’d put some kibble at the back of the shrine base. A skunk was there, but one of the little tabbies was wanting that food (even though there was more) and hissing and spitting at the skunk. Which was about 5x its size!!! I scooted the skunk away, going down a path behind a willow where there’s an opening under the chain link fence they can fit through. I knew it would be coming back, so I tossed some kibble into the grass of the path, so it would have no reason to go closer and scare the kittens.
I also move the shrine feeding station bowls next to the catio, on either side of the door, with the bait bowl inside the carrier again. The bigger cats will eat the closest food, which should leave the bait bowl inside the carrier for the kittens, when they go looking for food later.
If the skunks don’t eat it first.
*sigh*
Then it was back inside, and not doing much. The painkiller either didn’t kick in, or the pain was worse and the painkiller has managed to just take the edge off. At least I can tell myself that, with how wet it is outside, I wouldn’t be getting much done out there, anyhow. It’s supposed to continue raining, off and on, until about 2am. It does look like some onions are ready to harvest, though. Something I should be able to do tomorrow, if all goes well.
Tomorrow afternoon – if we’re not delivering kittens to the rescue – my daughter and I will work on breaking down that fallen tree. I can handle a chain saw, and my daughter will be able to clear away the branches and smaller logs. Normally, the two of us together will drag the bigger logs out, but we’re both pretty broken, so I just want to cut things to size. I’m hoping to be able to get an 18′ length for the next garden bed out of this tree. The base of its trunk looks like it will match the size of the one that’s currently in place for the garden bed fairly well.
That’s pretty much it for the day.
I am looking forward to seeing the doctor, a little over a week from now, and getting those test results. If things go as expected, she’ll get me in for a hysterectomy fairly soon. If not, then I’ll be referred to specialists in the city. Who knows how long that will take.
The kittens are definitely more comfortable around my daughter, and were willing to come over for cat soup while she was right there, and she was able to pet them. When she tried picking them up to put in the waiting carrier, though, that was too much. These kittens are a lot more skittish than the ones we took in yesterday.
Sweetie, of course, didn’t help much!
After a while, my daughter and I talked about it and decided it would be better to wait. We made sure to leave the big cat carrier out, door open, so they could go in and out as they pleased and not find it scary. The white and grey singleton also came out, but it’s even more nervous that the littles.
We will try again tomorrow – if the weather holds. We’re supposed to get heavy rain in our area overnight and all day tomorrow. It’s supposed to be worse to the south of us, and the city is getting flash flood warnings, so we shall see.
Once inside and having breakfast, I remembered to tell my brother about the chainsaw mill. He would have seen it by now, but I wanted him to know that he was welcome to use it at any time, since it’ll be a while before I am able to. While we were chatting, I mentioned my plans to go into town to buy a birthday card and visit out mother, since I wasn’t able to do it yesterday.
He was planning to visit our mother today, too, so he offered to drive me in his car, which was very sweet of him. I had enough time to head outside again to move some hoses, as my SIL said she wanted to mow the inner yard for me, then I picked some Orange Currant tomatoes and even a few Blueberry tomatoes for my mother. I figured she make snarky comments about them being so small, but thought she would still enjoy them.
We dove out in their recently acquired electric car, and there’s a charging station almost across the street from the nursing home, so we went there to top the charge up, then walked over to the dollar store, half a block away. I found a card but decided against looking for the other stuff I had been thinking of on this trip. My brother had already brought a card last weekend, but found an actual 95th Birthday card and got it for her, too. Then we walked over to his car to fill the cards out inside.
We had brought my walker along and, by then, I felt that I was going to need it, so he got it out for me and we headed in. It was coming up on lunch time, but my mother was asleep in bed when we got there. Once she was awake enough to realize we were there for a visit, she got up and moved to her corner chair.
The visit was… draining.
My mother almost immediately went at my brother, going on about how she wanted a “good” radio – she simply will not accept that the station she wants to listen to cannot be picked up in her room, and insists the problem is the “junk” radio. My brother had not intended to tell her yet, but he ended up explaining that he did get her an internet radio, like she asked for, and had spent the last week setting it up. She can’t understand any of it, but when she gets it, she’ll only need to push a button to get a Polish radio station. It was not easy, since the one station she wants doesn’t broadcast online like most others. It took him 4 days to figure out how to get their website stream connected to the radio. It was just that one station that was an issue, but none of it was easy. The next step is to activate the new internet that was installed in her room. He tried to explain all this, but she kept interrupting him and complaining.
The rest of the visit did not get any better.
She mostly dismissed the cards we got her. She mocked the tiny tomatoes, then was wondering where her garlic was. She had asked for a bulb of garlic, which my sister had brought, but apparently it wasn’t good garlic (small?). Then she asked me if I had garlic in the garden. I told her no, it’s harvested. She glared at me, asking why. I told her, it’s September. It’s all harvested. She then went to talking about how my sister and her husband eat garlic every day, and that’s why they are so healthy, so she wants garlic.
My sister and her husband are not that healthy.
Then she went on about how she’s gained weight (she hasn’t; she has water retention and bloating) because they feed her too much and keep “pushing” snacks, and “they” put chemicals in food and that’s why she’s gaining weight and why people are getting cancer. She’s cutting our beef and pork, convinced it’s the cause of her “stomach problems”. Then she started talking about something she saw on the news (she doesn’t have a TV, so I’m guessing in one of the common rooms?), except she was clearly combing two completely different things into one, but that’s why everyone is dying of cancer. ??? Then she started on how, after she’s gone, she wants my brother, sister and I to all get along and not fight and push each other away – clearly she had imagined some sort of scenario and believes it happening or will happen, or… I don’t know, but she was making a big deal of it. Not the first time, though the first time she assumed we were behaving a particular way. Then my brother mentioned she’s used our sister for something (he didn’t even try to cover how badly she had stabbed him in the back and broke his heart in the process) and I mentioned she has specifically told our sister to keep it a secret from us, pointing out that she is the only one doing things like that.
It went over her head.
On and on it went, until someone came in with her lunch. We helped her set up with her table and tray to eat, then my brother said he and I would be going out for lunch now, leaving her to eat.
I think we were there for maybe half an hour.
My brother is a saint. I would have left much earlier. Mind you, by then the pain killers were wearing off and I had very little patience in me.
We did not go out for lunch. Neither of us had the energy for it.
Once at home, I had to pretty much lie down right away and my brother, being my brother, had many projects to work on. Later, he said that with all the manual labour he did over the next few hours, none left him as tired as that half hour or so with my mother! I’m glad we were able to go in together. If it had been just him, she would have been much worse. *sigh*
I eventually made it outside again, too, and get into the garden, but that will be in my next post.
Well, I am not sure just how things are going, right now!
Last night, as I was going to be, I started feeling very ill. Nausea is s potential side effect with the new painkillers, so that might have been it.
Or it could have been the piece of birthday cake I’d had not long before. I may have been sighted out.
Or it could gave been both.
Either way, I had to message my daughter to help me just to get to the bathroom, which waz an extremely slow and careful walk. She got dome Pepto into me first, which seemed to work.
After I was finally stable enough to lie down, I took only 1 tablet instead of 2, for the next two doses. That didn’t quite cut the pain, but there was only mild dizziness. By the afternoon dose, I was back to 2 tablets, they kay riwn right away.
That seemed to work, because I felt well enough to get things done outside. I changed out the water in the tub all the cat beds, etc. were soaking in. That was really gross. I expect to be changing the water out at least one more time before I start using the wheelbarrow as a tub to wash individual pieces.
The kittens were looking for food around the shrine bowls, so while the tub was draining, I decided it was time to move the catio back to the inner yard. It topped up all the other kibble bowls to distract the adult cats away, then cleared and emptied the catio, including the weights on the roof to keep it from blowing over, into the wagon. The catio itself could then be walked over and got set uo where it was before.
Once everything was put back, eith fresh food and water, I went back to working at the tub nearby.
I then had to keep chasing away adult cats and skunks that were stealing the kittens’ food.
Which scared away the kittens.
*sigh*
While I was doing that, my younger daughter was doing some pruning of the lilacs by the house. We had talked about propagating the Korean Dwarf Lilac, so she went ahead and planted sone near where the sea buckthorn is, to fill gaps in the hedge. They may not take, but lilacs are much like willow or birch. You can just stick a branch in the ground, and it can grow. It’s really sun baked and dry out there, though, so they will need frequent watering for them to have any chance at all.
My daughter is dealing with a lot of her own pain, and walking with a cane again, so dhe headed in once the pruning and planting was done. After I finished refilling the soaking tub – and chasing off more skunks – I was feeling well enough to stay out and water the garden beds.
I didn’t get any pictures, but I’m seeing some Chocolate Stripe tomatoes starting to ripen. There is a single white Caspar eggplant developing. I even spotted some tiny melons developing, and one of the winter squash climbing the chain link fence is showing several female flowers, and even a few squash developing. With no season left to mature, unless that Super El Nino keeps things mild for a long time.l.
The pain killers were starting to wear off by then, so I headed back inside for a while. Just as I was sitting down with supper, my mother phoned. It was actually a pretty good call. She mostly just wanted to chat.
While we were talking about her health, my mother suddenly declared that she has a round belly, too, so maybe she has what I have.
…
I tried to explain how this could not be true. I don’t think she believed me.
*sigh*
I ended up having to cut the call short so I could have my supper, and my evening meds time was coming up. While I was eating, I updated my brother and SIL on the call … then they showed up! I wasn’t sure if they woukd make it out this weekend.
When I finished eating, I headed out to give the kittens a top up, since the cats and skunks steal their food donations quickly. I found the two bravest ones on a shelf in the catio. They ran off as I added some cat milk to the remains of kibble in the bowl, but they were soon back.
I still had to chase away Sweetie and two other adult cats, so the kittens could eat.
My brother passed by on the way to the garage, so we got to say a quick hello. He wanted to get their zero turn mower out and cutting the grass in the outer yard whike it was still light out.
I headed back inside just in time for my alarm to go off gir my evening meds. Including a full dose of the new painkillers.
I’m now in bed, in an over abundance of caution. I don’t want a repeat of last night! I’d forgotten my daily post, though, so I am doing this on my phone.
I much prefer my desktop!! 😁
I hope the night goes well.
Tomorrow, the main goals are a dump run, then a trip into town to get a birthday card and a visit with my mother. She’s turning 95 this weekend.
She is doing amazing for her age! Even with all her aches and pains, and declarations that she is dying. 😁
I did not tell her I was planning to visit while on phone with her, just in case I’m not physically up to it.
Today was quiet, for the most part. We’re all pretty drained, exhausted and fighting different kinds of pain.
I’m incredibly frustrated. The weather and temperatures are absolutely ideal for working outside, and I can do next to none of it.
I never took the hydromorphone my husband gave me, last night. I waited until I was more confident that I had no T3s left in my system and, by then, the pain had subsided on its own. I wasn’t about to take such a high dose without genuine need. When my 6 hour alarm went off during the night, when I would normally have taken more T3s, I wasn’t even dealing with a lot of pain in my hip, so I skipped it. In the morning, there was just a dull ache. This time, I took a tramadol instead.
It made no difference.
Aside from my daughter doing the morning routine outside for me, we mostly just took it easy. We did have a planned outing, though. My husband has a birthday this month and my older daughter treated us to his dinner of choice. Normally, that would be pizza, but he can no longer tolerate dairy, even with Lactase, so he chose Chinese food, instead. With this, we typically order just a lot of meat and seafood, with my husband also getting some chicken fried rice. We order enough to last us a couple of days, at least, which got us some free rice and deep fried wontons, and we prefer to do our own vegetables at home. This time, my older daughter baked the last of the bush beans and summer squash we had in the fridge, which was quite delicious.
My younger daughter and I headed out shortly before 1, to miss the lunch rush and to pick up a 40 pound bag of kibble on the way out. We both were thinking today was Tuesday, though. It’s Wednesday, which means the general store closed at noon. We’ll have to go tomorrow, instead. Which is fine.
When we got to the area around the restaurant, we had to drive around the block a couple of times trying to find parking. There was nothing nearby at all, and we ended up parking closer to the marina. I wasn’t even sure it that area was public parking, or parking for boat owners.
By this point, I was having trouble walking, but still well enough that I turned down a cane when my daughter offered to get one out of our collection in the back of the truck for me. We placed the order and paid for it, then set a pick up time long enough for us to make a side trip to the grocery store. We wanted to pick up drinks for everyone, but ended up getting a Boston Creme cake that was on sale, even though there is still a bit of the Costco slab cake left. I noticed some good sales on grapes and a few other things, so my daughter and I also picked what we needed to have a small charcuterie later on, to go with the new cheeses we got in the city. By the time the groceries were paid for, I was relying on the cart to use as a walker.
When we got back to the restaurant, there still wasn’t any parking nearby, so I dropped my daughter off by the door then pulled over in the lane around the corner. After she got back with the food, I had to ask her to do the driving. My alarm had gone off for my afternoon T3 dose just as we returned to the truck after ordering the food, but it made no difference. The pain just kept getting worse.
It has since subsided again, and I’m down to a dull ache. Tomorrow, my Percocet gets delivered. I’m really hoping that works better than the T3s. If it doesn’t, then I’ll probably end up with my own prescription for hydromorphone – just not as high a dose as what my husband is getting!
After we enjoyed our first day of birthday take out, I felt well enough to go outside and do the cat feeding. I even watered the south garden beds, though I wasn’t up to doing the main garden area, too. After a couple of hours, I went out again to top up the kittens’ bowl of kibble softened with cat milk in the catio, since other critters have been stealing their food. Then I set up the camp chair and started fishing for kittens.
The little black one with the white stripe up the side of its nose is more enthusiastic about it. One of the tabbies got curious and started coming over, but not close. The other kittens were much more interested in playing among the white lilacs.
The Grink wasn’t interested this time, but Sweetie sure was! At one point, she was stalking the lure at the same time as the kitten, but she does not like the kittens at all. Without the distraction of the lure, she growls and spits at them, and I’ve even seen her bat at them.
I did manage to get the little black one close enough that I could reach down and touch its back, but it did not like that, so I didn’t push my luck with it.
Then my alarm went off for my evening meds, so I headed back inside.
Tomorrow and the day after, there are people from the rescue available to meet up with us, so I’ve talked to my daughter about working on getting kittens closed up into the carrier. That will mean heading out fairly often to see if they’ve gone in, and maybe setting some treats out as bait. Hard to do that and keep the other cats away, though. Thankfully, the rescue have us quite a lot of donated treats, including some just for kittens, so we could probably set out some for the bigger cats as a distraction, then put the kitten treats out for the little ones.
I pray for quick success on this! With their mother gone, there’s only so much we can do to protect them. We really need to get them in to the rescue for fostering and adoption! Otherwise, their chances of survival are very low. At this point, it even looks like Sprout and Sprig, the two calicos, are gone! Sprout had Sprig last year, along with two others that disappeared. The older white and grey that we are also trying to catch is Sprout’s from this year, and I am sure she actually had more than one kitten.
We have had so many adult cats disappear this year. We would expect that with some of the males disappearing for the summer, then coming back for the winter, but these are mostly females that have disappeared. At least a couple that I’m sure had a litter somewhere. Among the others, both fixed and intact cats have disappeared. The person at the rescue whose daughter had been fostering Domino is pretty devastated that they brought her back, and now she’s gone.
Such is the reality of yard cats.
I say as I hear the sounds of cats fighting outside my window!!!
Today was my follow up with the doctor after my last ER visit. The appointment was in the afternoon, but my daughter and I left early, with plans to have lunch before heading to the clinic.
I am quite glad we left as early as we did!
On the way to the truck, though, I checked on the catio in its new location. My daughter had seen the kittens at the branch pile again when doing the morning feeding, but they soon joined the singleton kitten at the shrine feeding station, so I wanted to see if they were still around.
I found a furry little slug in the carrier.
It moved before I had a chance to get my phone out to take a picture.
It had been completely flattened along the curve of the carrier, snoozing. After looking around a bit, it finally saw me and got nervous, so I left it be.
In wandering through the garden beds, I discovered something.
Every single Yellow Swiss Chard that had been growing between the garlic is now gone. All of it. There’s nothing but weeds left.
The deer scarer did not go off while I was there, even though I set it to 24 hours instead of night only. Yesterday I was hearing it go off constantly, but never saw any critters. I think tree branches in the wind might have been setting it off. I thought maybe the solar charge was dead because of this but when I tested it, it still worked. So I have no clue why it stopped working! Not that it matters anymore. There’s nothing that the deer like to eat left.
*sigh*
Meanwhile, I had been feeling quite good when I got up this morning but, by the time I finished walking around the yard, the pain was starting to come back, and it kept getting worse throughout the day.
*doublesigh*
With all the construction on the highway we would normally have taken, we took the highway towards the town south of us before cutting across. It was a very disheartening drive. There were SO many squished garter snakes on the road! There were some live ones we managed to avoid hitting, one I never saw that my daughter thinks I might have hit and one that I know I missed, only to look in my rear view mirror and see the vehicle behind me run over it. 😭
I wish the “snake fences” that are on the highway nearest the snake dens extended further south. These are fences in the ditches that guide the snakes through tunnels under the highway. These were built in an area so close to the dens that had so many snakes crossing it, it was impossible not to hit them and the highway actually became dangerously slippery from them all. We don’t get THAT many snakes this far from the dens, but it is still a tragic number of snakes never making it to their winter dens. Garter snakes are not at all dangerous and are excellent pest control. We need more of them!
Taking the alternate route did allow us to avoid most of the construction, but there was still a section of it we needed to get through before our turn off. Then we got stuck behind slower traffic. We still got to the area early enough to grab a quick lunch, then continue to the clinic. We left almost 2 hours early, with the drive normally taking about 45-50 minutes. We got to the clinic only 15 minutes early for my appointment.
I was most definitely relying on the walker at this point, and my daughter came in with me. We must have been quite a sight. Me with my walker, her with her cane!
We spoke for a while about how things went after the surgery, leading to the ER visit, and how I’ve been doing since then. I told her I’ve been taking the T3s every 6 hours as instructed, but I really don’t feel it’s making a difference. I had taken my afternoon dose just before going into the clinic, and the pain just kept getting worse as I sat there. We talked about taking tramadol and I told her I did still have some tramadol left, though not a lot. I’d had the tramadol injection at the ER, which did seem to work. I brought up that the ER doctor had suggested hydromorphone and that I might want to try my husband’s, just to see if it worked and if I had any reaction to it. I explained that she had said to take 1mg, and to split the pill if my husband was on 2mg, but that my husband’s dose is 12mg. The doctor was rather startled by that and asked what was wrong that he was on such a high dose, and I explained his back injury – and that the hydromorphone basically just takes the edge off the pain for him.
In the end, she did say that, if I felt the need, to go ahead and try my husband’s dose of hydromorphone! She could not prescribe it to me, though, as she did not have the hand written, triplicate prescription pad needed for it, as a “controlled substance”.
I never got to mention that I already had tried it, some time ago, and it worked quite well. I haven’t tried it again since then because it cannot be taken with the same class of painkillers as T3s. I’d have to wait until any acetaminophen type medication is out of my system completely. That includes the tramadol I still have left.
Meanwhile, we talked about it a bit more and she said she would prescribe some Percocet for me to try. At this point, we’re just on pain management until she gets the results of the biopsy. She did check before coming in to see me, and there was nothing back yet. I already have the 4 week follow up appointment booked, so I’ll be seeing her again in the middle of September and she will have the results by then.
She did start to tell me that she didn’t think she would have good news for me, but with that she meant she expects I will need a hysterectomy. To which I responded YES PLEASE!!! She laughed, because I’d already told her I was just fine with having one. If, however, the tests show cancer, I’m going to have to see a specialist in the city, because the hospital she does surgeries in does not have the resources for that. If she didn’t have to wait for the test results, she told me she could do the hysterectomy at any time, based on what she saw on the camera during the fibroidectomy. She said it’s actually pretty common as women get older.
Even as I was sitting there with the doctor, I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable from the pain. I was till okay to drive to the nearby Walmart, while the doctor said she would fax the new prescriptions to our pharmacy. With my daughter helping out, we picked up a few things we hadn’t gotten during the city trip yesterday. I even finally found a package of assorted grades of sand paper that I had been looking for but couldn’t find while in the city.
There wasn’t much else we needed to get there, and we were soon heading to town to pick up my new meds, with my daughter driving. When we got to the pharmacy, I stayed in the truck while she ran in. She was soon back to let me know they had not received the fax yet. Meanwhile, I had just received a message from my husband. The pharmacy had called him to remind him that he’d be getting a delivery on Thursday. So I asked her to let them know that, once the fax comes in, my prescriptions can be added to the delivery.
Meanwhile, tomorrow, I will phone to see if the faxed prescriptions came in. If they did not, someone will need to call the clinic about it.
That done, we only needed to stop to get more gas in the truck – once again, I stayed in the truck while my daughter took care of it – before heading home.
It took a while, but the pain did finally start to recede and I felt able to go outside and walk around a bit. I tried fishing for kittens after topping up the food bowl in the catio (my older daughter took care of their evening feeding while her sister and I were gone). Theirs gets cat milk added to soften the kibble which, unfortunately, means I spent more time chasing other cats – and a very determined skunk! – away from their food. I was able to stay out until my alarm went off for my next dose of T3s. Which seems pointless. Taking it regularly should be acting as a preventative, which isn’t happening.
Hopefully, the Percocet will work better.
I have to say, I’m feeling increasingly frustrated. My daughter joked with the doctor about how I’m not allowed to do yard work right now. Fair enough, but I need to be doing SOMETHING! There is so much that I want to be doing. The doctor had brought up putting me on bed rest but decided against it. She could see I was already doing that as needed but one of the meds I’ll be getting is the one to stop bleeding, and I can’t be on bed rest if I’m taking that. I would have to mover around or risk blood clots. So I have not been put on bed rest, but I have to NOT be doing anything that that involves physical exertion.
At least I can use the riding mower.
On the way home, I talked to my daughter about some of the things I can physically do, with just a bit of help to set up. Like work on the round cutting boards I want to make out of slices of that elm tree. I want to get those cut, cleaned, sanded and conditioned before the green wood starts to dry out and crack. We’ll see about getting the chain saw out to cut the slices to the thickness I’m after, and she’ll take care of actually lifting and moving the pieces to where I can work on cleaning and sanding them before they can be oiled.
Cutting the slices might be a challenge. My electric chain saw has a 14″ bar. I’m pretty sure the pieces I’m looking to cut into thinner slices are more than 14″ across! The pile of elm pieces is right near an outdoor outlet, so that helps.
We had a solid rainfall last night, and rain off and on today, which was much needed. No rain is expected over the next few days, though, so we should be able to plug in the chain saw and do some cutting, if my daughter is up to moving very heavy pieces of wood for me.
I kept feeling worse and worse all day. The pain was back, though not as extreme as the last time I ended up in the ER. It was the other stuff that came with it. Fatigue. Dizziness. Breaking out in sweats. Overall weakness. Feeling dehydrated, even though I was being careful to get enough fluids.
After things kept getting worse, I finally broke down and tried to call the health line number. This is a number in our province that we can call to talk to an RN about whatever’s going on and getting advice, including whether or not to go to the ER.
I got a robot voice telling me that “due to technical problems”, they couldn’t response, try again later, and then it went to a busy signal.
*sigh*
Not long after that, I asked my daughter to drive me to the ER. Last time, I was able to do it myself. This time, I could barely walk, never mind drive.
The girls loaded me (wearing a night gown and moccasins, because I didn’t have the energy to change) and the walker up and we headed out. I made sure to bring along the sheet I got from the hospital that listed the three procedures done during the surgery, and my new prescriptions. I was admitted immediately – by the same person that admitted me last time!
The first time a nurse called me into the triage room to take my vitals, I walked in but asked for the use of a wheelchair after that. The only one she could find left was actually meant for children, which was fine by me! As we were talking, I mentioned what happened when I tried to call the health line. She scoffed in frustration, saying they just tell people to go to the ER.
Next, I was wheeled over to the lab to get some blood work done. That went well. I have excellent veins. They always have the hardest time with my husband but, with me, it’s very easy for them! I’m pretty sure I recognized at least one of the staff in the lab as having taken blood from my husband.
I ended up being seen by the same doctor as last time and she remembered me (it wasn’t that long ago!), which made it easier to explain that yes, I’d seen the specialist she was able to get me to see so very quickly, and that yes, I’m post-op. My follow up appointment isn’t until the 15th of next month, though.
As we were talking, she even commented on my obvious discomfort. I’m glad my daughter was there because at one point, when she asked about my symptoms – something I’d already repeated several times to others – I was having difficulty speaking and my brain was too fogged to remember them all, so my daughter was able to list them off for me.
In the end, we had the same “problem” as last time. There was little that they could do for me in the ER. There was concerns that I was still bleeding and we went over how the T3s basically do nothing for the pain. She wanted to wait for the results from the lab, which would tell her if I needed a transfusion or not (I did not expect anything like that), or an IV for fluids, if I were dehydrated.
The main thing that they could focus on was pain control. She suggested hydromorphone, which my husband is on. I told her that, so she knew I was familiar with it. If the T3s aren’t working, she was willing to prescribe some to me, but that falls under the “controlled substance” label. In the end, she said it was okay if I took one from my husband to try and see if it works, or if I would have a reaction to it. I didn’t know what his dose was, and she told me to take 1mg, so if he’s on 2mg, I should break it in half.
For now, though, I’m to take two T3s every six hours, instead of the 1-3 tablets every 8 hours as needed, but not at the same time as the hydromorphone, if I’m going to try that. I got all the other warnings – no alcohol, don’t try to drive, don’t go swimming, etc. I told her, if I’m going to take it, I’ll be taking it and going straight to bed!
She approved of that.
She then told me that, on Monday, I need to call the specialist that did the surgery, tell her that I’d gone to the ER, and to get in to see her as quickly as possible, rather than waiting the 4 weeks.
Until then, I got an injection of tramadol for the pain I was dealing with right then. The nurse that came to me in the waiting with the injection recognized me from the last time I was there immediately! I think it was my sparkly hat. 😄
Not long after, the doctor came by with the lab results, which turned out to be really good. One of them was even better than the result from last time, and she told me to keep doing what I’m doing.
The main thing was, I did not need a transfusion or IV. I had just got the tramadol injection, so she said I could go home.
Then my daughter went and brought the truck over from where she’d parked it once I was admitted and we were soon on the way home. As we were driving, she commented on how quickly they took care of me. I suggested it might have had something to do with how terrible I looked.
She agreed. I was looking very ill!
Once at home, my younger daughter drove right up to the house to unload me and help me to the door, where her sister was waiting to help me once inside.
Have I mentioned how much I love all the arm bars and hand rails this house has? Quite a few times, I’m sure!
My older daughter had just finished making supper and, though it was early, got a plate ready for me, as I’d had only soup and toast all day. By this time, the tramadol was starting to do its job and I was feeling better. I did end up lying down again, as I was completely drained.
I don’t know how long I was down for, but I was awakened by the screeching of skunks fighting outside my window. I ended up going outside to see what was going on. I never saw the fighting skunks, but I did chase off two huge ones. One was coming around the corner of the house. The other was in the isolation shelter! Earlier, my daughter had messaged us to let us know she’d gone outside to feed the cats, but there was a skunk in the sun room that couldn’t leave – cats in the doorway were blocking it. So she went out the other door. While in the yard, she checked the sun room and found the skunk stretched out and taking a nap, right under the door into the old kitchen! So she didn’t go into the sun room at all.
Between that and the skunks, when I went out, I found all the kibble trays were empty. Even on the house house roof, there was only a few dregs.
By this time, my younger daughter had come out to check on me. I was going to top up the food bowls, but she did that for me. While she did that, I went over to the branch pile to see if the kittens were out.
I was feeling so much better that I kept walking around – slowly – to check on the garden beds. My daughter walked with me (turns out she was supposed to get me to go back inside, and failed!) and, when I spotted some colour hidden deep among the orange currant tomatoes, she picked them for me.
She found another spray with ripe Orange Currant tomatoes after the photo was taken. I think there were about 6 or 8 in total. Those vines are covered with sprays of tomatoes – so many!!! – and they’re all very green! The girls tell me the Orange Currant tomatoes are very delicious.
We did pick the one red Manitoba tomato, but it ended up going into the compost pile. The skin on that one got damaged while it was still green, and it was in pretty bad shape. There are more, but none are turning red yet.
Our single Arikara squash is getting huge.
Tomorrow, my daughter plans to harvest beans. She got the one golden zucchini that was ready, this morning and the garlic is ready to have their roots trimmed off and the soil brushed away before they come inside. She had planned to do a few things in the garden for me today, but got side tracked with having to drive me to the ER! I’ve been ordered not to have any more medical emergencies. 😂🤣
Meanwhile, at the moment, I’m feeling much better. The pain is gone, though I’m still feeling really weak. I’ve got timers and alarms set for the different meds I have, though I will be out of one of them rather soon. If things get bad again, I might try the hydromorphone. I have a slight problem with trying one of my husband’s, though. The doctor said to take 1mg, and split the pill if he’s on 2mg.
He’s on 12mg, and they’re not tablets, but gel caps. It’s the highest dose they’re allowed to give out, if I remember correctly, but I didn’t know what the actual number was until talking to my husband about it and he double checked.
I will admit, though, that I have actually tried it before, when the pain got extremely bad some time ago. I took one before bed and it worked incredibly well. No bad reactions, and it actually killed the pain, unlike the T3s. It also helped with my hip and shoulder pain. I was able to actually sleep. This is something to avoid, though, if only because he’s already so limited on when he can get refills.
Hopefully, things will be better tomorrow – and stay better! I still have to call the specialist’s clinic on Monday, though, and get in to see her as soon as possible.
I am so glad we left early. Three constructions zones on our route, slowing us down.
We still got there well before my registration time. They took me in for processing and prep almost immediately, and it wasn’t long until I was in a stretcher, waiting to be brought in for surgery.
I fell asleep.
Twice.
After several hours, the doctor finally came by to let me know that there had been an emergency that came in and everything got delayed. She had one more person ahead of me, before I could get done. When I heard a nurse telling someone it was past 3:30 (my check in time was 11:45, but we checked in almost half an hour early), I asked someone to call my daughter and let her know about the delay. She was more worried about the surgery than I was.
The surgery itself took only about an hour. While in recovery, I was informed they did find and remove something unusual. I’m to go back to the doctor in four weeks for a follow up, test and biopsy results. I got a prescription for antibiotics and something to control bleeding, if necessary, that they wanted me to fill right away, but our pharmacy would be closed long before we reached town, so I will do that tomorrow. Meanwhile, I was given instructions for home, and what to look out for that I would need to go straight to the nearest ER for if it happens.
They kept asking me what my pain levels were like, on a scale of 1 -10. My response? A half. Maybe. Just a dull ache. Pain, of course, can be a relative thing, and compared to the past few months, there was almost no comparison.
After my daughter wheeled me to the truck, we made a quick side trip for some take out so I could eat and hydrate on the way home, since I wasn’t ready to be going in and out of the truck yet.
We also took a different route home, allowing my daughter to detour two of the three construction zone.
As for me, I feel absolutely fantastic. I am so happy!
It’s still possible I might go for another, more major surgery, depending on the biopsy results, but I suspect I won’t need it.
I can’t believe how much better I feel already. Wow.
My daughter, meanwhile, as informed me that she will do the morning routine. I am banned, no matter how good I might be feeling. 😂
I had to zoom in from half way across the yard, then crop the photo, to get the above image. This cat goes into that splay legged position, like it’s ready do run away in a flash, quite often.
I hadn’t done their water yet, but didn’t want to scare the little one away from the food, so I went around to the main garden area to start watering that garden beds, partly to judge just how well I was doing, and if I’d be going to Costco or not.
I took it easy and didn’t do a really deep watering; we weren’t expected to get unusually hot today, so that was enough. By the time the main garden area was done and I moved to the other side of the house, the cats (and a few skunks) had all had a chance to eat, so I refilled their water bowls in between watering different beds.
We are now up to four luffa seedlings, with a second one showing up next to the oldest one. Each spot got several seeds, so it’s entirely possible more will show up, still. Even with only 55 days to maturity, it’s getting really tight for them. They will have a chance only if have a very mild fall and no frost until the end of September.
Which, given that this is a Super El Nińo year, might actually happen. At this point, the shorter daylight hours will also have an effect.
By the time I was done, I knew going to Costco was going to be an issue. I could handle the drive, but not the shopping. Not without making things much worse.
The problem was, my younger daughter, who is the only one that can come with me, was dealing with her own very different pain issues today, too.
I decided to pain killer up and try lying down for a while, to see if things would improve.
They did not. The tramadol seemed to have zero effect. Not only that, but the bleeding kicked up again, too. *sigh*
After waiting a long enough time, I tried taking the T3s and lying down again.
It’s a good thing I wasn’t trying to nap. As soon as I lay down, I got covered with cats, including some that don’t normally cuddle with me like that. At one point, I had 5 cats directly on me, and I don’t know how many against my legs. I ended up with Shadow right against my side, and Clarence right against him, both draped over my bicep.
Both images are of Shadow, just inches from my face. So close that my phone’s camera (which I keep close by in case I need to message for help) measured as dark and used the flash. His face looks mashed because it IS mashed. By Clarence.
I had updated the family on our group chat about my status, still willing to go into the city later in the day, if someone could come with me. My husband had already suggested I wait until tomorrow. My older daughter came by later and basically said the same thing.
*sigh* Another day wasted because of this pain. I am so glad the surgery is happening in just a couple of weeks.
Eventually, the pain did recede a bit. My daughters were working on supper – my younger daughter was looking really rough today! – and I felt well enough to do the outside cat feeding again. Once that was taken care of, I did a light version of my evening rounds. I find the fresh air and moving around helps. Mentally, if not necessarily physically.
While doing that, I noticed that the old, leaking water barrel by the apple tree and gooseberry bush was looking surprisingly full of water. Usually, it leaks until there’s only about half a foot of water on the bottom, but I could see the water line was at about 3/4 full.
So I took advantage of that and watered just some of the fruit trees and berry bushes. I wasn’t up to hooking the hose up to do all the ones I normally water. It actually felt pretty good to do as much as I did, and didn’t make things worse, which I was grateful for.
While checking the main garden area, I noticed these are getting nice and big.
So far, only one of the Chocolate Stripe tomato plants has developing tomatoes. They’re looking pretty good!
I’m going to have to get that canopy tent set up soon. The garlic looks about ready to harvest, and I plan to hang them under the canopy tent to cure. I’ve got one kohlrabi and a couple of green pattypan squash (Green Scallop Benning) that I will be able to harvest tomorrow. Of the five types of summer squash I’ve got, one of them has not had any flowers yet, male or female. The Lemon squash. The yellow scallop squash at least has male flowers blooming, if no female flowers, yet.
Now, near enough to the end of the day that a trip to Costco is out of the question, I’m actually feeling a lot better.
If only that can last through tomorrow, and I can finally make the trip in, and not need to drag a daughter along, too.
The Re-Farmer 