Dementia

A few weeks back I wrote about my experience of driving to IKEA with my neighbor friend Lorri. It was scary and she was so "off" I realized that she must be experiencing Alzheimer's or something like that was happening to her.

Shortly after Lorri moved into the neighborhood from San Antonio her mom came to live with her. Her mother had Alzheimer's. One day her mom just walked out of the house in her bathrobe down the street. Rick and I were walking out of our home and she was walking by. We stopped and said hello and asked where she was off to this fine day?  Knowing full well we had to get her home. She said she just wanted to enjoy the sunny day. Rick put his arm out and asked if he could walk with her. She smiled proudly like it was her prom date and with her smile and head held high she took his arm and he walked her home.
She was none the wiser. Lorri was so thankful it was us that saw her.

As time went on the situation with her mom was getting bad for Lorri. Her mom would walk out of the house at 1 or 2 in the morning. One lucky day for her mom Rick again was out with a dog who had diarrhea. He saw her and asked if she would like to walk with her and Izzy.  She was just wearing a thin see through nightgown.  Rick again walked her home and Lorri was frantic and had already called the police by this point. Once again she was happy it was us and no harm had been done to her mother. She used to say Rick was her guardian angel.

Now it's Lorri's turn. She got the results of her tests and she has Dementia.
I am not surprised. She has been having such difficulty finding the words she wants to say and she is so frustrated. She did have a car accident with her daughter's car after she dropped them off at the airport last week while I was out of town. I hope now her daughter will take away her driving privileges.  I strongly believe they need to take her license away before she kills herself or someone else.

I spoke with her last night and her boyfriend was coming over. But after work today I told her I'd stop by. I know she knew this was happening but I think when the doctor tells you all of this it still stings and then it really sinks in that this is real.  I feel so badly for her. She lives alone and yesterday she told me she thinks she must sell and go into assisted living and then full nursing care. She began to well up with tears and it just broke my heart. She is only 70.

This disease is so awful. I fear this one.
ALS and Alzheimers are my two biggest fears at this age.
Both would suck. I would move to Oregon and do it on my own turns I'd like to think. Rick knows my wishes, we are on the same page.

I saw my father this past week and it is a horrible way to end a fine life.
He was such a proud robust man who now wears depends and can't do more than sit and walk a small bit at a time.
His mind is shot and he stares at TV and I wonder what is going on in his mind?
He smiled at me and at times he knew me but more often than not he didn't. Growing old sucks.

My moms side of the family all died of either heart disease or cancer. My fathers side have all been Alzheimer's. I prefer to die from one of my maternal side of the families diseases. How can this be stopped? Can it be halted? Do the medicines they give you do anything at all or are they all placebos?

I have a doctors appointment in a few weeks for my annual exam and blood work.  I am going to ask what is the real difference between Dementia and Alzheimers?
Doesn't one turn into the other over time? Aren't about 75% of Dementia patient really just Alzheimers early stages? How can I prevent this from happening to me or I am destined? Crap!

Now on to Betty, who I have named that big ole inflammation behind my eye.
Betty won't go away. She is holding steady. The steroid drops make me physically ill and after vomiting a few weeks ago I called and she dropped me to only 2 drops a day. Well after all this time it isn't budging. No smaller, no bigger. So I am being weaned off the drops. (It is far smaller than when I had no vision in that eye at the beginning of this ordeal.) 

I will go back in 4 weeks and see what it is doing and at that time get new glasses. So I went from 20/20 in both eyes to 20/40 in my eye with Betty. I don't want a new friend so Betty needs to get the hell out of here. But she appears to be a stubborn little wench.

So no one knows what it is after a zillion doctors and tests. It will just be monitored so it gets no bigger or do something worse. It is all we can do at this point. It could be worse so I am just thankful I still have my eyesight and that today I can remember where my keys are and it's only Betty and not her dreaded brother Dementia.  Taking my blessings where I can these days.

Have I posted these before?

I came back to the office to a voicemail light flashing. No voicemails. Hmmm.....

I called Verizon. I told them it did not start until I had to call them to change my ring count for voice mail upon my return. Yes, that is correct they don't let you do this yourself. Instead, they tried to make me buy their new voice mail product and phone for VOIP. The amount of time I have my service go down why the hell would I wish to buy another phone and do this? Besides everyone who calls with VOIP I can tell because the connections are horrific. 

Anyway, I called them and asked them for help. They called this morning at 8 am to tell me everything looks fine. I told them I have a post it over it but I can still see it blinking. Help me before I am in a padded room. He laughed and said they would try something else.  Gee, in my mind you would do that until it is fixed. But hey, that's me. I have reprogramed my phone, unplugged it for 3 minutes and done all these crazy things they have asked me to do. Nothing has worked.So now they say they will run this up the support ladder and someone should get back to me by 11 am. Hopefully, this will be fixed because honestly, a blinking light drives me bat shit crazy.

I have rediscovered the TV show MASH. They are rerunning this on a few channels now. I am sick of the news and stupid things our president does or doesn't do so I have taken to having MASH on instead of the news. I must say that show does not lose it's appeal over time. I forgot how good it was. 

Because I have a lot of things to do I'm being lazy with some Memes.

Talk with you all tomorrow.

 Did I post this one before? I apologize if I did.

 This one made me laugh because not only did it happen it made me livid with Rick when I woke up. When I told him this dream, he told me to go back to sleep and he would apologize. So he defused my anger by making me laugh.

Home

I hope you are all high and dry right now. 
The images on television are just heart breaking. 
Those who read from Texas I pray that you and your loved ones are all okay and have what you need.

We arrived home Saturday around dinner time.
It was wonderful to be home.
I think we brought the cooler rainy weather from up north back with us.

There was no vacation.
There was no sitting on the beach and soaking up the sun.
There was no relaxing.
This was a visit, not to be confused with a vacation.
I was seriously stupid to think otherwise as my husband has pointed out to me.

There was nothing done that I was hoping to do or all the people to see.
People disappointed me big time and there was a boat load of guilt thrown at me.
I tried to deflect but.....it didn't always work.

I did get to see my parents, a couple of friends and my sister Jen and nieces and nephew. But overall I wouldn't do it again.
I don't imagine I will go up there again until my father passes. But I do feel bad for my mom. She is a care giver and it looks like it has taken its toll on her.
For her, I would go back to help her. She doesn't get a lot of help with my father.
Everyone has their own busy lives and my mom takes care of him and no one takes care of her. She continues to work and I am thankful she is 14 years younger and can care for him. He is not well and I hope he doesn't have to live long like this because it is so sad to witness. He deserves better. Doesn't everyone when that ill?

I came home to hook up my camera to my PC to download the photos and somewhere along the line I lost my cable. They were always in my camera case so I can't fathom what may have happened to them. I may have to purchase another to see all my photos.

It stormed most days there. The beach outside of the house was washed away after our 2nd day there. The waves were too much for Izzy. She was thrown around and came out of the water with her bumper and ran up the stairs back to the house. Those stairs that the woman said were 30 steps to the water were actually 49.  This was after a storm and you can see the beach is gone and all the debris all around. My nieces are those tiny figures trying to get sunset shots. You can see the rain drops on the deck in the forefront.

I forgot after not living there for over 24 yrs that the sun never really is out there.
I mean, a full sun and no clouds. Sun and clear blue skies.  We had clouds every day. Sun would peak out and people would say, It is sunny, what are you guys talking about? We laughed. It reminded us of Seattle. It was exactly like a summer in Seattle only Seattle doesn't have storms and lightening etc. It just is soft rain. That is glorious if you don't wish for a beach vacation. 

We stayed in a little village that has every spare space filled with grape arbors. I think that is pretty in its own way. This town is the home of Welch's.
So there are Concord grape vines everywhere. Izzy would walk by in the morning on our walk and sniff them every day. She would put her head in the air and just sniff. I think she liked the smell of the grapes.  Because of this, there are a few wineries around. And you'll be surprised to learn that I did not go to a single one. Not a fan of the concord grape or its wines so no big deal to me.
(I don't even like grape jelly)
I grew up with that wine and tried those wineries and just didn't care for it so that saved us so time and money right? 

The house was nice enough but the view was great.
The house was clean and that to me is all that really mattered. 
Very clean.
First time I have ever rented a home this clean and I loved it. Rick and I both felt like it was well maintained.  Sitting in the living room was a wall of glass and it was awesome to sit and look at. To see the rain coming from Canada or the lights over a city in Canada and just hearing the water hit the shore. That was wonderful to sleep to.

For 6 months everyone was made aware of the party for family and friends. 
At the 2 month point, I reminded everyone
At the 2 week point, I reminded everyone. All rsvp coming except 2.
Cornhole, food, booze, overlooking the water kind of fun.
Only a few came. (10)  To say Rick and I were upset pissed is an understatement. Then all those that didn't show up kept after us asking when we were getting together.  More guilt heaped on. The purpose of the party was to see everyone at one time so I didn't have to be given this guilt if Rick and I may have wanted to spend some quality time together or to be with my parents. We got one evening together alone and it was only for a couple of hours.

We spent a small fortune on food and booze for this event. Those that came we had a great time I think. All laughed like crazy, ate and drank a bunch. The corn hole was up but everyone was just mingling and laughing and telling stories and having a nice time. The last person left at just past 11 pm. We watched the sunset that night and here is a shot of it from my phone camera.

This one below was after a storm one evening. See the sun peeking through? 

That was what my family calls sunny.

 This was after the same storm. I loved the sky and the water here. It felt like fall and it was very pretty to watch the sky change. We were glad we brought cool weather clothes! The water sounds all week were the best!!

 

Seeing the rain coming from Canada across the lake was a cool thing to watch.

We watched this until we got wet. See the sunny day? 😎

 Another sunny afternoon off the deck below. 

 This is one of the sunnier days at the beach. See the pattern here? Izzy loved it here.

The sunniest day of our week was the day of the eclipse and it was overcast/partly sunny. The eclipse was nothing there because we were too far north. But that didn't stop people from trying. It was funny to watch the people more than anything. The cereal boxes instead of glasses. Remember those from grade school. I sure forgot until I saw people with them.
Colanders. Yes, we saw a woman with a colander on her head at the beach. I didn't want to take her picture without asking. I didn't want to ask. 
Rick said she was asking for a photo op she was wearing a friggin' colander on her head. Yea, it was pretty damn funny.

This below is a sound bar that was underneath the TV. One rainy evening we actually got a couple of hours alone. We attempted to watch the television.

Boy, it ended up being an hour of laughter. There was no sound coming from this sound bar.

They had a tablet that you may see to the left of the sound bar in this photo.

This was pages of instructions on how to use the TV. We followed it and we finally got it turned on. Then we couldn't change the channel or raise or lower the volume without standing up and putting the remote over top of the sound bar so the TV could accept what we wanted. You can imagine how fun that was. But you couldn't be a couch potato since you had to get up any time you wanted to view the guide, raise the volume or change the channel. We had some laughs about this. Rick would ask, "Don't you want to change the channel, Margaret?" 

I knew that meant he did not wish to get off his arse in the corner of the comfy sofa. 

After an hour of playing around with this thing, I thought Rick was going to throw it in the lake. But since he had a few drinks he too was laughing. Oh, my goodness, a sound bar with no sound. When a friend stopped by who we knew would know how to use this stupid TV we asked him for help. He did everything we did.  Mr. I.T. who has a sound bar said that the sound bar wasn't working. DUH. We knew that but it had to be turned on for the TV to work at all. We looked at connections and finally just gave up. We went outside and sat in the drizzle and just laughed at the whole horrible week.

One evening while I was with my parents my husband went to the local casino.

He likes to play Texas Hold "em.   When I picked him up he said it was an odd vibe there. He said most at the table didn't know how to play and everyone was a senior in the whole joint. I said, "You do know you're a senior right?"

He laughed and said, "Oh yeah,"  Rick thinks he is 35 years old. 

So here we are with the weather we had up north. It's cool, it's rainy but it's all good. We are not flooding, we have power and we are thankful for all of it.

I hope all of you, your pets and your loved ones are high and dry.

On The Road Again.

We are heading out of dodge in a few days. Until then busy as all get out.

I am dreading the drive up north with a dog in the back seat but other than that I am looking forward to not being at this damn desk.

The drive is 6 hours without a dog. But having to stop for her will add on time.
She is okay until the 4 hr mark. When we used to drive our lake house every weekend she began to get restless just as we were arriving. (just under 4 hrs) Because of this, we know what this trip is going to be like. I suggested we give her one of those pain medication pills that she took right after her surgery the first 2 weeks because they knocked her out and she would snore for hours. 
Rick poo-pooed that idea of drugging our dog for my convenience. 
Bad Margaret.

The vet suggested Benadryl which we gave her once when she was younger for the 1st drive to the lake. It made her hyper and bouncing all over the back seat so we won't do that again.  I imagine all of this adding an hour to our journey at the least.  If only we could entertain her like a kid in the back with a video.

My Izzy girl had her 8-week vet visit (at 7 weeks) yesterday to take new Xrays to see how she is doing with her repaired ACL. We arrived yesterday afternoon at the hospital and Izzy began to have a full body shaking episode and refused to get out of the car. It makes me feel so bad that I am putting her through this. 
A car pulled in as I was trying to coax and pull her out of the back seat. This big German Shepherd got out and came to the opened door and stuck her snout in at Izzy. That made Izzy get up and wag her tail and go to the open door to see this friendly dog. I thanked the owner and explained what was going. The dogs were all friendly and sniffing and Izzy forgot where she was going. It worked perfectly. I asked the dog owner if she could come to all our visits. She laughed.

Once inside they did the same thing in the waiting room so she was unaware of where she was for the most part.
The good news - she is 3 lbs from her fighting weight.
Miss Izzy is ready for that bikini at a whopping 78lbs. 75 has always been the goal from all of her vets. Almost there. Her highest was 89.8, so really 90. We had her at 85 before the surgery.  Her diet is as hard on me as my own diet. 
This dog will awake from a coma if she hears the rustling of any type of bag, baggie, deli bag or just plain smells food. It's crazy. Crazier still is my husband who gives this stuff to her. I have to monitor him as well.

The doctor/surgeon who operated on Izzy comes in with her Xrays to show us some things. It was so impressive to see them side by side. 
The Xray that was done right after the surgery, then the one done when we arrived yesterday. Everything is healing perfectly. All inflammation was gone, bone healing well as is the muscle around the new rod in her leg. Dr. Morris wanted her to walk so he could watch her. But Izzy is in the corner against the wall shaking and does not want to come out. 
Dr Morris opens the cupboard and pulls out a treat. I say, "Hey you told us no more treats and you are giving her a treat?"  He laughs and says, "Oh they're small"  Of course being the typical Labrador she gets right up for food and walks over to him.  He gave her a couple of little pieces of something and then she had a new friend. She laid down next to his chair. It was funny to see.
If a burglar broke into our home she would bark and he'd give her food and she would have a new friend. She is not a watch dog. Most times she wouldn't even bark. 

We went over the fact that she still has a bit of a hitch in her giddy-up at times or when walking fast.  Dr. Blue Eyes, I mean Morris, said that was normal. He believes in 3 more weeks she should be fine. We also expressed concern for her issue with steps. Apparently, that too is normal at this stage. She can do steps but not as before and she doesn't enjoy them.

So everything is normal and she is released for vacation and fun in the water. He praised us for getting her swimming every day for PT. We explained we don't have a choice. She lives for Rick coming home and taking her swimming.
As soon as he walks in the house from the back door, she grabs her bumper and runs to the front door waiting for Rick to take her. If he isn't quick, she will make noise as if to say, "c'mon old man, move it we have a pond to get to"

After all of that we are now officially ready to head north soon.
I can't wait. 

Next post from the great white north....the weather folks are saying rain and clouds most of the time I'm there. Yipee. I hope "they" are wrong. I know it will be cool so I don't imagine swimming will happen for me. I need a lake like bath water and the air temp above 80. I doubt it's in the 80's up there.

See ya'll soon.

Belly Laugh

Beautiful Sunday afternoon sipping some of Peggy's summer water on the patio when Rick says something crazy.

Me: I think you may need a 12-step program, Rick.

Rick: Hmm, well at least a 6.

I laughed so hard I lost my balance and slide off the sofa.

Swift Trial.

I am not a Taylor Swift fan. I'm sure it is because I am not her demographic or because I prefer rock over soft pop. While I understand that she is a talented song writer, her songs don't appeal to me. Hell, I'm her mother's age and I wouldn't like that music unless of course, it was my daughter I suppose.

I found the way she handled herself when Kanye West stole her thunder at the Grammy's as classy and professional. Besides Kanye is certifiable and she may be young but knew that it would be best to stay out of his way.

This trial with her and the disc jockey only make me admire her more.
The fact that she is suing for $1.00 makes me certain that she isn't doing this for attention. The way she has answered the questions when the attorneys on the other side wish to make the victim suffer or shame the victim has been perfect.
When asked why the front of her dress is not lifted up in the photo she replied, "My ass is in the back is why." Or something to that effect. Point being, good for you Miss Swift.

When I heard that the disc jockey is suing because he states Taylor Swift made him lose his job I wanted to scream, "No, you made yourself lose your job when you put your hand up her dress and grabbed her ass!"  I saw the photo, it's obvious to anyone with eyes and can see. Saying he felt a rib was so ridiculous because his hand is nowhere near a ribcage. Unless she is special and has ribs on her arse.

I hope this young woman wins. She is being ridiculed, called names, people suggest she is doing this for money and more fame. That is ridiculous. This woman does not need to work another day of her life and she will be fine. She doesn't need the money, hence why she is suing for $1. I don't think she needs the fame either. She is not Kim Kardashian with no talent. This girl has talent.

My Week

Aside from the crazies and the full moon, this is what I have experienced this week.

Signs Telling me I'm old -
The refrigerator commercial tells you if you just tap on the door it will show you what is inside without having to open it. What am I missing? You lift your lazy little hand and tap it or lift that same lazy hand and open it. Do I really need this technology? I assume because my answer is No, I don't need this, it shows you I am old as dirt.  Bill wrote about this as well on his blog.  This fridge is bought by those under 40 I would bet. Rick asked if I liked that. Hell no I told him I don't see the point of tapping saving me time. I mean you can't see around things so you still have to open the door. It's just technological nonsense to me. Yes, only old people say that.

The spam calls and emails I am getting now have changed. Funeral expenses, long term care, life alert and walk in tubs. I'm not there yet but .....(ok I do have long term care and I got it at age 44)
But I am a card carrying lover of the clapper and have been since I was in my 30's and got one for my Grandmother. Every one of my friends laughed at me.
But I'm short and this helps in a plethora of ways. For example, that light on my 3rd floor shelf. It is so high I can't reach it without a ladder, not even a step stool. I just clap and on it goes. The Xmas tree lights. I would have to crawl under the tree to plug and unplug, but now I just clap. Much easier on my knees. I could go on and on but you get it, I'm short and have bad knees and the clapper is my old lady thing even at 35.

The WalMart commercial showing the kids going back to school with hero type T-shirts. The music in the background was popular before these little snot nose kids were born. I find myself singing along to White Snake when that commercial comes on. Sure sign of being old, music in the grocery store is "my" music as they are in commercials. Singing Hey Jude while picking up my vegetables at the store actually made me laugh. Next stop in the elevator.

I learned how to pour wine correctly, although I don't agree. 


Rick made me laugh, yet again.
We were watching that stupid show America's Got Talent. I don't mind the talent portion but the sappy stories to make everyone cry and vote make me a bit ill. But Rick loves this silly little show so I watched it with him this week.
There is a golden buzzer they hit so the contestant can skip all this crazy stuff and just move on to the live shows. That golden buzzer is coveted by the contestants.
This young man was belting out a tune when Rick said, "He's going to get the golden shower"  OMG! I began laughing like crazy and he asked why that was so funny. I repeated what he just said. He now is laughing too. Oops. I guess it's not only his hearing that is failing. For those of you who don't know what a 'golden shower' is, look it up I'm not telling you.

The Story Continues....

Update:

Oh my gosh, I did not see this coming.

The crazy woman who was so awful has the hots for Gary. She was all over him he said. He convinced her to make her bathtub white and she said, 'Okay'  just like that. After all, I went through with her the day before. Geez.

At 4:05 pm yesterday she called me after he left to ask if he was single.
I told her no because it is just too damn embarrassing for this woman to do this.
I'm saving her the embarrassment of asking Gary out.

Gary called me shortly after to say she was nuts and coming on to him.
I asked him, "Guess who just called about you?"
I was laughing so he knew! He told me the details of what she was doing.
He was so uncomfortable. If I were her I'd just be damned embarrassed.
Gary blushes easily too I can just see his big red face. I reminded him that I put the app Call Control on his new phone. BLOCK HER NOW!

She told Gary she would like to have her other bathroom tile (like wainscotting), sink and tub done so she'll see him soon.  Gary said to me, actually pleading, "Rick's going to that job. Please. She's an older woman and I just felt trapped"

She also apologized for being late at the end to him. Gary felt she was late on purpose and when he said that, I told him I thought the same thing but then after she liked you she must have felt the need to apologize.
He went on, "Man if I hadn't walk away I feared this was going to turn into a Penthouse forum thing when she laid across her bed as I took the venting out of the window.  She put her butt in the air for no apparent reason man except for me to look and I turned away. Ma'am, I kept looking away and at the floor. I couldn't get out of there fast enough" (yes, he says ma'am and sir - raised military)

I assumed she was in her 50's or 60's. Gary is 40 so that is a bit too old for him.
I told Gary maybe she could be your sugar mama. He shuddered. We are all having a good laugh about this. But in all seriousness, this is so wrong to do to anyone. He was so uncomfortable. No one, male or female, should ever be made to feel like this. Man, these women are aggressive. Gary said if a man did this to one of my friends or sisters I'd deck him but I can't hit a woman. After just speaking to her for a couple of days I told him I'd hit her for you.

Gary was back at the office just past 5 and he gave me his paperwork and checks and I handed him some new company T-shirts. As he was walking out the door I said, "Oh and Gary, I think you may wish to take one for the team if she wants all the whole bathroom done."

You guys should have seen the look on his face. Both Rick and I about died laughing. He looked like he was gonna cry if we sent him back there.
"No worries, you aren't going back we'll send Rick and she can have my pot-bellied stallion. Work for you?"  
That made him laugh and relax a bit.
But then I had to ask, "what if she were young and cute?"
He said, "Oh that's easy,  I would have flirted back. Then the next day I would have called her to see if she'd like to go out sometime because I already had her number and I am no longer on your time. 
"Good answer kid."
"What would you guys want me to do in that situation?"
"Just what you said, Gary."
_______________________________________________________
This is for Mike and me.
Rock 'n Roll the way God meant it to be Mike. 😃

You can't please Anyone.

There has been a customer we did some work for who had cancer.
She has lost 1/3 of her lungs.

I spoke to her a couple of weeks ago because we were going back to do a small repair in another bathroom for her. Her appointment was for today at 10 am
Yesterday when I called to remind her it went straight to voicemail and I left her a message.  She did not give me an email as others do, she said she preferred for me to call.  

Rick arrived at 9:50 and no one answered the phone. Because he was early he waited in the driveway. Went back to the door at exactly 10a and rang the bell and knocked loudly. No one came to the door. He was going to leave a card in the door but the screen door was locked from inside. He called her when he got back to his vehicle to leave her a voicemail or wake her up or something. But again, only got her voicemail and left her a message.

He called me at the office and asked if this was the lady who just had a large part of her lungs removed. I said indeed it was. Now he is all concerned. He said he was going to look in the windows to be sure she wasn't laying on the floor or some such thing. I said to be careful or the neighbors will call the police. 

He called back and told me he walked around the whole home and looked inside and everything was in its place and he saw no one anywhere. He went back and really banged on the front door and rang the bell 3 more times quickly. Nothing.

After I got off the phone with Rick I called her again. Hopefully, she was just asleep and this would wake her for sure. But no answer.

Now we are both very concerned. Finally at 11:15a she calls asking where Rick is because he was to be there at 10 am. She is shocked. She said to me that he was early last time and I liked his punctuality. Yes, that made me laugh. She said that she was in her room until just before 10a. She never heard the door bell ring all those times, never heard the knocks / pounding on the door and never heard her phone. Hmm....

She told me she then went into her kitchen holding her phone so she wouldn't miss him. He did not see her in the kitchen so they obviously missed one another.

We both remember her because it is difficult to listen to her when she talks to you. She obviously has a hard time breathing when she speaks. What I remember most about her was her telling me she misses cigarettes so much. I asked her at that time if she would smoke again knowing this would be the outcome and she said a very emphatic and loud 'hell yes'. I was surprised. But being that this is the only vice I don't have it's easy for me to say now, isn't it?

Needless to say she is most unhappy that Rick will not go back to Falls Church today. When I tried calling him after speaking with her he was already in Alexandria for 2 jobs and then he heads to Centreville for an estimate and then he's done. Gary is in Alexandria and Springfield today and won't even be done before 5:30p so he can't go back today.

I can slide her in on the 16th and move everyone else around that day. She was not happy about the time though because she has to go to the doctors that day. Every day I gave her as an option she got angrier and angrier at me because she couldn't do it with her social calendar. 
She wanted him to come back today. 

I rebooked her for the 16th because she said she could do it but only at 9 am, 8 am was too early and 10 am was too late. But that means I will have to move everyone else around and if that makes others too angry or we lose them then she will have to wait until August 29th for the next opening. She is aware but not happy. But c'mon she said she couldn't do it any day I gave her as an option. Then stand by your door and phone lady.

I feel badly but also am a bit peeved since she knew we were coming. She claims her doorbell isn't loud enough. Then you may wish to wait for Rick in that room by the door since you yourself said he was so punctual. Where the hell were you?
But of course I can't say those things. Instead I apologized for the inconvience but we were there and we waited until 10:10am before we left.

Since starting this post I've been dealing with other issues as well.

Gary just called to tell me the woman wasn't home. There was a worker there but he refused to sign off on a color match because he was afraid of her. This was a worker who was also a relative he told Gary.

As I wrote on Gary's work order, this woman is a royal bitch, actually, the C word and I don't use that term lightly. She is the poster child for that horrible word.

She wants us to match her bathtub to the color of her new vanity. Vanity top not sink.  Which is odd since your tub, toilet, and sink should all be the same color. (ask any realtor) But hey, if that is what you want, we'll do it. Then she said that she would not be there. I said if you're not there we can't do it. Far too often we think it looks perfect and then when they get home they don't agree. We have to do it over again but it would be their cost to do so. So we will only do a color match if the female is home (men always say it is fine and then the wife comes home and we have to do it again, we've learned) 

She made a big ugly stink and then she got uglier, swearing and I imagined she was also stomping her feet having a hissy fit.  I think this woman always gets what she wants. I said, "I understand if you can't be there so maybe we should pick a day you can be there," She said, NO. Just NO. I said, then maybe we aren't a good fit for you, you may wish to try another company. She then calmed down and said, Fine, I'll be there. 

Apparently, she decided to show up but not on time. I think in her mind that was her way of getting back at us. I told Gary it was okay to walk away from the job if she was being difficult or asking too much. I don't care. I will pay him as though he did the job and we'll eat this one. She will only be a headache later as well. I'm sure more info will be coming. 

I need a vacation.

Jury Duty

Rick got a jury summons in the mail a few weeks ago.
It said to call Sunday evening after 6:30p to see if you had to show up at the court house Monday morning.

He did as instructed and sure enough, he had to show up at 8 am, dressed appropriately.  He was so worried about his clothing and I said he could wear jeans and a nice shirt but he didn't think so. I imagine a lot of people will be in jeans. I think they just meant no tank tops, flip flops, no shorts etc. Not that he would wear those things in public but sometimes you have to tell others how to be appropriate. It also stated that phones would be confiscated if brought into the court house so to leave them in your cars.

I pray he doesn't get picked because you know it will be the same time as our vacation. Will they let him off for that? Who knows.  I've always wanted to do this but I never get a summons. He had this once before and he got to the questions and then he was not selected. I imagine he will be there most of today as well as he was the last time. With no phones and just sitting it will be a good lesson in patience for him. People watching and not being able to text me about them all will make his little head explode. I don't know why I find that humorous but I do. Bad wife.

On our vacation in a few weeks (10 days but who's counting) Rick will play poker one night at the casino. Fishing and Texas Hold 'Em Poker are 2 of his favorite things. I asked how much he thought he needed to play poker, he said don't worry I've got a plan.

Does any wife/partner want to hear those words? What the hell does he have up his sleeve was my first thought.
Well, I found out this weekend.

We have a local Facebook page or 3 that is only for the development where we live.  There is a FB page for selling things. Kind of a like a garage sale of sorts.
There is a tool FB page. Oh my yes, he lives on that one. One is just for guys.
I dare not look to see what the hell they are selling and buying.  But he sells a great many things there and it surprises the hell out of me.

I told you about the espresso machine that he sold as well as the golf clubs correct?  Both of those items were found on someone's curbs as garbage but my hubby picks them up and sells them. He makes sure they are in good working order or in the case of the golf clubs, he cleaned the leather bag and made sure all the clubs were there that is needed.

Well, now he has begun selling all the things in OUR garage that he is no longer using. We have some serious money in countertop making equipment. He sold something this weekend for a few hundred dollars and a grommet machine for $145. (not like you get at Michael's ladies) I asked what he was doing with all this cash. He showed me the box on his dresser filled with his sales money.
As he opened the box, he said, behold my gambling money with a flash of his hand over the box.
You'd have thought a light above was going to shine on it and angels were going to sing the way he opened it and moved his hand over this wooden box.

His goal was to reach a few hundred dollars so he didn't feel guilty blowing it at a casino. He has over $500 now and the garage still is filled to the rafters.
I asked, "You're not spending all that on poker are you?"
The look on his face told me he thought so but I think the look on mine told him, oh no you're not. We are still in negotiations about this as I type this post.
But remember my former job was a contract negotiator.
I do know who will win this one. He doesn't stand a chance. Especially with medical bills up my ying yang to pay off.  Silly boy.

Elephant Farts

Eye, Ears, we are a hot mess here.

Rick was saying he wanted something sweet. He is supposed to be dieting. He has gotten a real belly on him. With his health issues, this is not good. So I am not baking anything. But does that stop him from going to the store for himself? Hell no. 
I don't care what he weighs because I love this man no matter the size, however, it's his health issues that cause me concern.  He knows what the doctor has been saying. But he was stubborn as a young man and as he has gotten older he sure as hell didn't get milder.

For fathers day his daughter sent a box from Omaha Steaks. 
You know the steaks, the 'tators and the dessert. 
The dessert were these mini peach tarts. One serving size for a normal person but Rick thinks they should be eaten by two.

The other night at a commercial break I got up to get myself another glass of ice water and I asked, "Do you want anything while I'm up?"  
He said, "something sweet,"  
I said, "We don't have anything sweet except me."  
He laughed and said, "Okay I'll settle for you."  
Then I remember those peach tarts in the freezer. 
I yell back, "Hey you want a peach tart?"  He begins laughing so hard and does not answer me.
I walk over to his chair and put down my water on the table. 
I ask him what the hell is so funny?  
He said, "Didn't you ask if that was an elephant fart? I did not fart"

Oh, my goodness did we laugh. 
I hugged him and said to him, "Old man aging with you sure is a trip. 
No, I asked if you wanted a peach tart"
" Oh well then, sure bring on the peach tart."

Yes, this is what it is like all day every day in our home.
Pitiful isn't it? Yet he insists he does not have a hearing problem, it's just that I mumble. Oh yea, that's it.

At least we have belly laughs daily and that ain't a bad thing!

Eye see you

It's Friday. I am almost done for the week. YIPEE.

I came up to my office this morning at 7:30 to do some things I didn't get done yesterday due to my doctor's appointment. My goodness people call early. I had a voicemail from 6 am. I was up and heard the phone but I was not going to my office to answer it. People don't know this is my home when they call our office so I get why they call when they can and when they remember.

I admit though the calls that come in at 2 am that startled the shit out of us at that hour is a bit crazy. I don't think I have ever had a remodeling idea at 2 am and made a call to a contractor. 

I made it to my eye appointment and then just sat in the office and responded to comments on blogger while I still had my eyesight.  I knew once those drops were in I would not be able to read much.

I got inside and met the new doctor who was lovely and smart.

I like that combo in a doctor. She mentioned this appointment as a second opinion and we went over everything that I had gone through. I brought a folder of files for her to review of tests and doctors records etc. 

When telling her this from my perspective I did not leave out a single thing, not even their smug, arrogant and rude attitudes and comments to me. She said that she was a bit surprised to hear this. These 2 doctors were well known and highly regarded nationwide as well as being quite good at their jobs, and she added, as am I. I liked that she added that. The difference was she was more humble about it. I want someone who thinks they are good and can back that up. Hell, at my old job I knew I was good. I didn't think it was arrogant to know that but I didn't walk around saying it or acting above anyone else. 

She went on to say that she would have done most of these tests too to rule out all they did because this is so different. She also stated that seeing Dr. D., the oncologist ophthalmologist is the best in the country and that we are so lucky to have him in our area. That made her happy that he ruled out cancer and had me do those types of test as well. That also gave her confidence moving forward of what I didn't have for certain and how to deal with this questionable mass I do have.

My new doctor, Dr. L. specializes in Uveitis. She said she did not believe this was Uveitis or like anything she has ever seen during her career, but she believes because no one knows what the hell this is and my symptoms are that of Uveitis that is why it is being treated as such. Before she would say more she dilated my eyes and then I had to sit for another 15-20 minutes before she could examine me.

I had explained to her that once I was weaned off my prednisone eye drops it felt like it was getting worse again. I notice my vision changing back as well as floaters and the pressure that appears on the top of my eye. 

During the exam, she did say it was smaller than my records indicate it was at the very beginning, but a bit larger than where it was at my last appointment. (so I was correct that it was reverting back)

This was a very very thorough exam and lasted a long time. 

When it was done she said that she believes this not to Uveitis but since the prednisone drops worked so well to reduce this she felt I needed to stay on the drops until we could get this either gone or much smaller. She felt if I agreed, to monitor this for awhile since it was responsive to the drops. I would have to take them 4 times a day for 3 weeks and then return. However, I will be on vacation at the 3-week point so we are going to do this at 4 weeks instead. She said, "We will get this, whatever it is, gone and get you back to normal. I feel it should be monitored should it come back and we will continue to search for answers. I am sorry I am not 100% certain this is Uveitis or that it is NOT Uveitis but I have never seen Uveitis like this before. We've ruled out everything else so now all we can do is monitor this and continue this protocol and see where it goes. Can you work with me on that?"  Hell yes! All I ever wanted was the truth, expectations and to be spoken to like another human being. How nice to finally get it.

At one point she was speaking about the group of doctors I saw as though I was going back to them. I told her that I was not comfortable going back there and asked if would she be my doctor. She looked me straight in the eye and said it would be my pleasure. Her hand on my arm as she said this. Not once would Dr. B look at me, only through me or he spoke to his minions who followed him and they spoke to me. 

I asked if the reason when I asked Dr. B if this was gone and his response was, "You're seeing better aren't you" was because it wasn't gone and he just didn't know what it was. She didn't say that was right but she didn't say it wasn't. She said something to the effect of I'm sure he wasn't avoiding the question just was happy it was working. Bullshit but I let it go. She didn't say it. I know what he said and the tone it was said, I also know how she avoided this meant I was correct in my assumption but she didn't wish to throw a colleague under the bus. I surely get that. But knowing that she felt what I felt made me feel better - I know that sounds odd but somehow it was comforting that this wasn't in my head. It wasn't ever completely gone to begin with.

She mentioned my Celiac and how this wrecks havoc on your body with inflammation etc. This could be somewhere it is affecting me but it's all a guess right now. This is an unusual case and I guess I will be a science experiment for awhile. Also, she stated that Celiac is not taught much in school or that it is not well documented until recently so she is learning as well as those of us with it in regards to the disease and its plethora of symptoms it takes on in our bodies. At least she was honest that she knew very little but was learning. I get that.

I am back on the steroid drops. I already feel less pressure on my eye this morning after just 2 drops yesterday and 1 this morning. At least this doctor listened to me, communicated WITH me not AT me and we had a real conversation. It is not cancer. I don't have cancer in my body from all those tests and they are all perplexed. So just call me Science Experiment number 4.

I just want this good enough so that I can get new glasses. We discussed that as well. I mean this all started because I wanted new glasses. She also gave praise to my optometrist who made me deal with this immediately before I lost my eye sight. He may work at Costco but he is damn good. Did I tell you he called me a 2nd time? He called to see how things were going. I filled him in on my improvement. He was so relieved.  How nice is that?

Allow me to leave you all for the weekend on another happy note.

My 3 nieces were raised by my parents, their grandparents.

They are not so much grandparents but the only parents they know. 

My parents feel they are their children - a second set if you will.

The 3 of them bought a photography session. My niece Ariana is an event planner and I think she knew him through work. These are 4 of the photos of Dad and Mom now. Dad is 89 and Mom is 75. (remember she is my step mom, she was not 14 when she had me. 😋)  

This one is my favorite. It is so them. Laughing and the look on their faces. This is my Dad to a T. That mischevious look and smile.

 You can sure see the difference from the last photo I shared of him, can't you?

I love the old coot but it sometimes saddens me to see him so frail.

 You can see here that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree right? Yep, we all love our wine in my family. It's an odd photo of my mom in the middle of saying something but it made me laugh, the wine and all so I had to share.

 As a teenager, it used to bug the hell out of me that they were always kissing. Now of course I think it's nice.