A post in which we prepare for the worst

Today was another busy day. I was up early of course, and talked to Mom while she got ready to go to the hospital. She ended up being the bearer of bad news, and had to fire Louise this morning (the woman who sits with Granny at night, and whom we have all become increasingly concerned about over the last couple of weeks). She also had to tell Granny that she was going to have to leave the hospital on Monday not to go to home as she was expecting, but to go to a skilled nursing facility. It was an understandably intimidating agenda. Granny wasn’t expected to take this well. I offered to go with her repeatedly, but she refused. I offered her my biggest, most attitudinal bitch earrings, though, and she wore them. There was little else I could do but wish her the best and see her off.

Afterwards I woke Cole up to run off to the flea market. The one up there is small, but it’s something to do, and I have scored up here before. We didn’t find much today. I did go by to see the dragon lady. As usual, she had her wares laid out in heaps of abundance, but her pricing remains pretty aggressive. We haggled over one bowl, but in the end I didn’t buy it. I did score a new tape dispenser – woo hoo.

Cole and I stopped at the grocery store and then picked up breakfast on our way in. Ava is at the stage now where she doesn’t want to eat what’s on her plate; she wanted what was on mine. After finding her little hands all in my plate last night I sat across from her at breakfast this morning. “What are you eating?” she asked cutely. “Squirrel intestines.” I replied. “Oh I like that.” was the response. She is such a funny little thing.

I had planned to sit down for just a minute after breakfast before I got ready to go to the hospital. I was spelling Mom at 1pm so she and Donna could go and look at the nursing homes the doctor had recommended. But duty called. Granny had woken up feeling much better today. Mom called. “Will you make Granny a hamburger?” she asked. “She wants one of the ones from her house.” Of course I made it, although it felt rather surreal. She has her own little way of eating hamburgers the same way she has her own little way of doing everything. The patties are so thin as to just barely hold together, and of course there were very specific instructions as to the topping, etc. Although I would rather have cooked for a cordon bleu chef, I prepared the burger with care and trepidation, and sent it off to the hospital with my Aunt.

I then got ready and went over there early so they could have lunch before the appointments they had planned. Granny was picking at her lunch when I came in. She didn’t eat much of what they had on her tray, but gratifyingly had eaten almost the entire burger I made. She had been up in the chair all morning, and had walked her physical therapy also, so by the time I got there she was pretty wiped out. When she finished with lunch I put her in the bed, and she slept for an hour or so. I’ll admit I nodded off for half hour or so with her.

When she woke up we talked for a while, and she share reminiscences with me from during World War II, when she was a newlywed and Poppy was in the air force. She told me about going down to see him when he was in training in Biloxi, MS and how hot it was. “It was one hundred and ten degrees when I got off the train;” She said. “And I had been on my feet since I left Washington the night before. My legs were so swollen I had to lie down and put them up on pillows to make them go down. That afternoon, I got up, went downtown, and found a job.” I listened to her talk. I love hearing about her life.

She slept some more, and Lisa came over with the kids around 3pm. Then Mom came back in after a while. We visited until the kids wore Granny out, and then went to see Grandma Shumate for a short visit (Ava was getting fussy). We then went out for a late lunch. On the way back to the house, Lisa asked if I would take Cole to look for the book he needed for school. I hadn’t had any luck the night before and today didn’t turn out any better. There is apparently no book store in Wilkesboro. I suppose I shouldn’t have been as shocked as I was. We ran down one that was listed in the GPS which had apparently closed, and cruised the main strip of stores, but no dice.

We got back to the house and I rested and read for a bit while we waited for Mom. Louise was coming in to work tonight and tomorrow, after which she would be done. We were a bit worried she wouldn’t show up, but she did. By the time Mom got back she was very hungry, but Granny’s sister Kathleen and her husband Pete were on the way by for a visit. She had made some fried apple pies for Cole since he loves them so much. After she had been briefed on all that happened, they headed on out.

Things went as well as could be expected today. Granny and Mother both were up all night last night praying about what needed to be done. Granny had previously told my mother if she went into a retirement home she would turn her face to the wall and refuse food. I love my Granny, but she’s stubborn enough to do it. Surprisingly though, when Mom got there, Granny just told her that she knew what had to be done. The discussed it together fairly calmly.

Louise was a bit of a problem, but not near as much of a one as we had feared. Mom handled the whole thing beautifully and got the house keys back with barely a ripple. Lisa actually had a harder time than Mom did today. Granny’s housekeeper called Lisa very upset (Cole and I were still gone at the time). She said she would take Granny to her own house before she would let her go into a retirement home. Lisa handled it pretty well, but someone will have to talk to her at some point.

Since lunch had been so good, and Mom wanted Mexican, we went back to the Mexican place where we had eaten lunch. Ava flirted and made eyes at all the men, charming waiters and patrons alike. She must get that allure from her mother. By the time we had eaten and gotten back to the house it was late, and I was wiped out. It had been a long, long tiring day.

A post in which I am off to the mountains

Today was Friday the 13th, and although the weekend is pretty ill-omened, today went pretty well. It was very busy though. I got ready to leave town while I got ready for work, ending up only 15 minutes late. Since things are still slow on my desk that was fine.

After work I left and drove to Statesville. I was meeting Mom and Lisa there, but of course they were late, which was fine. I had figured they would be. I shopped for a while, finding none of the things I needed from the Wal-Mart there. I also looked around for a book Cole needs for school (he starts next week) but didn’t find it. I walked around the shopping center there and chose a restaurant for dinner. We met at Chili’s, a place I usually hate, but Mom loves it apparently and I have to admit I had a most excellent veggie burger plate. The fact that it was after 9pm by that point and I was so hungry I could have eaten corn chips out of Rush Limbaugh’s shoes may have had something to do with that. Mom caught me up on the latest in the Granny situation over dinner.

Cole rode the rest of the way to Granny’s with me. He’d been in the car with Ava for hours at that point and was glad for the break. She’s a sweet thing, but she’s just about three (her birthday is next month) and riding in the car strapped in a car seat for a long time is not exactly her favorite thing.

I had the sweetest text from Rick tonight on the way in. I was touched, but I couldn’t text and drive. It was so thoughtful of him. It made me feel really good, and was a bright spot on a weekend I'm not much looking forward to. I'm really looking forward to seeing him next week though.

By the time we got there it was late and there wasn’t much to do but haul everything in, assign sleeping quarters, and get to bed. I was exhausted.

A post in which I act somewhat impetuously

And probably not that advisedly, but then that’s par for the course I guess.

I woke up this morning thinking about Rick. He’s a guy that I knew years ago before I met Michael. I talked to Russ about him not too long ago. Russ gave me his number, but I hadn’t called him for some reason. I resolved to do so today.

I’ve been kind of conflicted about starting new things – everything has kind of felt on hold since the testing started. Plus it feels kind of dishonest to maybe start dating someone and then say “Oh by the way…”

But I figured a phone conversation wouldn’t hurt. And it didn’t. It was good to talk to him, and he’s a nice guy. We’re going to dinner Tuesday night next week since I’m gone this weekend. I’m looking forward to it. I am not telling him all this stuff on the first date. Time enough for that later. And I’m not marrying the guy; we’re just going to dinner right? I’m going to try to just enjoy an evening out with a nice guy and leave it at that.

I went and got my hair cut tonight. Russ was apparently having more than sinus issues last weekend – he and Billy both have some kind of upper respiratory infection. He approved of my calling Rick.

I ran by the library to get a book on CD (I’m more prepared for tomorrow’s trip than for the last one), and then home to fix supper. I was ravenous. I figured that once I was through eating I wouldn’t feel like doing anything else. But I was wrong. Partially because there was nothing on TV, I ended up changing out a load of laundry before I packed my clothes. I called Dad and talked to him for a minute since he had his stitches out today. Apparently that went well. I actually had a little time to relax before I went to bed even. Bonus!

A post in which I go to check on Dad

The computers were up today at work, thank goodness.

I talked to Mom about Granny. There doesn’t seem to be any decision about what they’re going to do, but it’s clear to everyone that she can’t go home yet. Lisa, Cole, and Ava will be in Wilkesboro this weekend with Mom, and so since I didn’t go the last time I had said I would, I’m going too. It is past time for me to be up there and see everyone anyway. So that decision is made.

I’m really hoping that Mom doesn’t tell her about not going home when I’m there. Knowing Granny that could be an ugly scene. I guess it makes me a wuss, but I really don’t want to be there for it. I don’t think Mom would do that to me.

Since I’m leaving Friday night, and since I have to pack tomorrow, I called and went by to see Dad tonight. He seems to be doing just fine, and is back to his old self almost. He says he is walking better now than he did before the surgery. He’s a little concerned about getting the staples out of his back tomorrow, but then I guess anyone would be. I haven’t decided when to tell him about my stuff.

I left fairly early (it’s petty of me, but I just couldn’t bear another minute of E! Entertainment News and all that stuff they watch in the evening). I’ve seen them so much lately that I don’t have anything safe to talk to them about. Usually I save up stuff.

When I got home I had a lovely email from Lady Beth about the biopsy and all. She had told me to let her know last week, but I didn’t email her until she came back from vacation with her family. She has quite enough on her plate already.

I had intended to do some laundry tonight when I got home, but I ended up being pretty worthless. But it does feel good to have some plans laid, and it was very comforting to hear from Lady Beth.

A post in which I accomplish nothing at work

The computers were down all. Day. Today. Ugh. So we sat and fooled around, and waited for them to come back up. But that has its limitations.

Nancy (a friend at work) knows about my health situation, and she gave me the sweetest card today. Of course I almost cried. But then I cry at the drop of a hat these days.

I went straight home after work (despite being ravenously hungry), ate leftovers (not a huge sacrifice since I still had chips from Sunday and some of James's gorgous potato salad in the fridge), and astonishingly did everything I intended to do tonight. I had some snap beans I had picked up this weekend just because they were so pretty, but after the Sunday funday I hadn’t done anything with them, so I snapped and cooked them. I changed out a load of laundry.

I’m trying to decide what I’m going to do about this weekend. Its Mom’s weekend at Granny’s and Granny is still in the hospital. This was the week she was scheduled to be released, but the last I heard she was in no shape to be at home. On the one hand I’d like to go up and see her and Mom, but on the other hand I don’t want to go up and be in the way. I’ll talk to her about it.

Justin called to talk for a bit tonight. It was good to hear from him. We talked about the fact that I usually spend a good bit of time alone during the week now. I am feeling a bit better from the E-B crap (thank you God), but still many times I don’t feel like going anywhere when I get home. At the same time, weekday evenings are depressing to me. I feel like I work all day (most days), and then go home to - well, nothing. It’s a conundrum. I need to go back to school, but (ugh) I just can’t bear the thoughts of it. Plus I don’t feel like I can start anything right now. Everything is on hold for now until I find out whether or not I have to have surgery. It’s kind of the same way when I think about dating.

First, I seem to be off men again. I think about dating, or about sex, every now and then, but it just seems to be so much work. Plus, I can’t imagine meeting someone, and now having to add to the talk “Oh, by the way, they may cut my crotch out in a month or so, possibly leaving me impotent for life. Just thought I'd lay that out there for ya.” All in all, it just doesn’t seem that the timing is right.

I’m going to see if I can persuade myself to do bits of housework in the evenings when I get home instead of watching TV and playing on the computer. Lord knows there is plenty that needs to be done, and I read an article that was talking about how spending time online leads to depression.

A post in which I am back to work

I was up early this morning to dish out the lunches, organize the leftovers, and clean up the kitchen before I got ready for work. It went pretty smoothly.

It was a fairly typical Monday, aside from the computer system being up and down all day. Fortunately things are slow on my desk right now, so I’m not getting behind. Plus I got the report that I needed for this morning. And it balanced. I was a bit tired today, but it wasn’t too bad.

Granny continues to not do well. Mom says she wants Loise there at night even though she's in the hospital, and won't discuss giving her a day off without getting upset. Apparently Louise is kind of talking down my mom and my aunts to her also, which just isn't good. I’m thinking about going up there this weekend because I think Mom’s going up. But if they have to tell her this weekend that she can’t go home it won’t be pretty.

I went straight home tonight to tend to other chores I should have done this weekend. There’s more to do, but I got everything done that I had decided to do tonight. I was able to relax for a bit and watch Pit Boss before I went to bed.

A post in which it is a very busy Sunday

I was up in time to call Russ this morning, and he was up and around when I called. He came by he house to pick me up on the way to Anderson and brought coffee. Yay. There wasn't a whole lot of stuff there, but there was more than the last time I went. Even at 10am or so though, people were packing up to go home because it was so hot.

I ran across a pink Bubble bowl that I wanted. It was so pretty, and Justin has one that I admire. This is apparently a not uncommon vegetable bowl, but it is one of the few pieces of this pattern commonly found in pink. I turned it down at $10 (I only had about $25 with me), but when she marked it down to $8 I couldn't resist.

"Bubble" 8 1/2" vegetable bowl in pink by Anchor Hocking, circa 1934 -1965. For some reason the color is a bit off in this picture. My bowl is a nice soft Depression pink.

Russ had decided that we would go to Jeff and James's house for dinner tonight, which suited me fine. It's been too long since I've seen them. He also wanted guacamole (or avocado dip - I have kind of drifted from the traditional guac recipe) so we picked up some avocados before we left. We were kind of in a hurry, and the woman was kind of crowding me, but they seemed OK. She also hosed us on some cilantro and overcharged.

Russ dropped me at my place about noon. I had a bunch of stuff to do today because I was worthless yesterday, but Russ told me to go ahead and do my stuff and get a nap (evenings at Jeff & James's tend to run late) and he and Billy would call later and tell me when to come over. I decided I would get done what absolutely had to be done, and do the rest next week. I was not going to miss a visit to stay home and do chores. Especially with as much time as I've been spending by myself lately.

I spent about an hour putting the ratatouille in the crock pot and lay down for about an hour. The phone rang at 2:12. "You can be here in about an hour right?" I agreed, somewhat incoherently, then hung up the phone and started to panic. I hadn't even made the guac yet. I had to call back and beg for a bit more time.

I finished up the ratatouille, cooked the rice to go with it, and wrestled the guac together. The avocados we bought didn't seem ripe enough for me and I had a hard time getting the pits out without tearing them all to pieces. Additionally, the cilantro we bought had obviously been out in the sun all day yesterday and was pretty pitiful. She had put two bunches together to make them look better, which was why it was too expensive. I kind of picked through it and got the guac made. I was at Russ and Billy's by about 4pm, which I thought was pretty damn good.

It is always good to see Jeff and James, plus Amanda was there (I adore me some Amanda), and Morgan and Corbin were there as well (they were the boy/girl couple that came tubing - I now find that they aren't quite together, but that's another story). As usual J&J put out quite a spread. A lovely carrot souffle, homemade potato salad, BBQ chicken breasts for them, and grilled portobellos for Morgan and I (she's pesce as well). Russ and Billy had brought along a fruit torte for dessert, and I had the guac for an appetizer. The guacamole didn't turn out to be the disaster I feared, and indeed almost all of it was eaten.

Jeff has apparently been wanting to put a pool in, and James is against the idea (which I can understand). Russ had picked up a wading/paddle pool for them last night at Kmart, kind of as a joke. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We filled it up and sat around with our paddies in the water, yakking.

Corbin and Jeff

Moi, huge ivory thighs ablaze - thank goodness the sun wasn't out!

Amanda, Russ, and Jeff. Can't you just feel how thrilled Amanda is to be having her picture made?

After supper and a bit of time on the porch, True Blood came on, which was kind of the reason for the get-together. Russ and Billy came up to watch the show with J&J. I wasn't thrilled about being in Spartanburg until 10pm on a school night to watch a program I'm not that crazy about (I've read all the books the show is based on, and the show kind of vaguely pisses me off) anyway, but I'm not going to be a spoilsport. Plus it was worth missing some sleep to see everyone. I sat down to watch.

About halfway through, I looked up, and both Russ and Billy had gone outside on the deck. I was like whatever.

When the program was over, it was time to start thinking about heading home. So we did. It was a lovely evening though, and I was so glad to see everyone. I had a great time. It was well worth dragging a bit tomorrow.