Picnic

Yesterday, I posted this on Facebook:

My summer just kind of disappeared this year. This afternoon we are going up the canyon for a picnic, the first for me this year. Can't wait.

It was the first time I had been up the canyon this year. It was so nice to be out. We went to Willow Flat. I ♥ it up there. That was the last place I went before I left on my mission almost 40 years ago.

I was excited & hoped I wouldn't get sick. The food was delicious and I ate too much. I got soooo sick. I went to the car, took my eme-bag (barf bag) out of my purse & sat there with my stomach cramping.

The leaves are starting to turn, but it is soooo dry. It was nice, but then clouded up & random raindrops started falling just as we were finishing. We didn't get our watermelon. Not that I would have been able to eat it if we did.

Some things never change: like forgetting mustard & ketchup. I actually thought of it, but didn't stop & get it out of the fridge.

Nick didn't feel good yesterday after we ate, Don woke up in the night, Don-Mike had diarrhea all day. I don't know if Amber got sick. Mother didn't seem to, but today she is not feeling well. The home health nurse came & took her vitals & sat & talked for a few minutes. Everything checked out okay. I think it was the smoke from the bon fire & she didn't have her oxygen with her at the table, only in the car. I should be more conscientious, but I wasn't.

Corrections on Grandkids

I had to work today, Sunday. I took Friday off because my caregiving duties interfered with my "real" job. My real job is becoming a pain. I went to Kelly (Mickelsen, publisher) with a suggestion that Jean Carter help with the typing. That's when I need the help, Friday afternoon.

I got Carolyn's Clifton Rural Route column for the Oct. 21st issue. Brenden is spelled with an "e" instead of an "a" as I spelled it. His mom is Kelly, but I have a "niece" who spells her name Kelli. And it was Brenden's Great-Grandpa Ballif who died, his dad's grandpa.

Don took Mother & I for a ride up Cub River yesterday, Saturday. Mother especially wanted to look down on the ranch from Burbank's road. She likes to go up on Cemetery Hill & look across the canyon at the leaves behind Knapps too. I especially like this one. The beautiful colored leaves with the snow on the mountains behind.

I got carsick, so I fell asleep when he turned to go over into Glendale at Glen & Amy Bowman's house. Speaking of Glen & Amy, I wonder who lives in their house, now that they are both gone. Whoever it is, they are remodeling.

Rockets red glare

Francis Scott Key penned the national anthem in the "rockets red glare," as the battle raged around him. I am typing this as Don-Mike & Nick are yelling at each other. The battle is truly raging around me. I'm glad Mother is not here. This truly upsets her. I have my hearing aid turned off. I can still hear the raging. I am grateful I am deaf in one ear. It's times like this I wish I were deafer than I am.

Nick's zodiac sign is Taurus, the sign of the bull. He is bull-headed & right now he is a raging bull, LOL. Trying for lightheartedness. Don-Mike is Cancer, the twins or as the website I'm giving you the link for says, the crab. There is definitely 2 sides to this young man.

I took Mother to Instacare today after DUP. It was really funny. The medical assistant that took us back to the triage room looked SO familiar. I kept staring. I apologized & said that she looked so much like my cousin's daughter. She laughed & said, "That's because I am." It was Krystal, Jenni's oldest daughter, Luana's granddaughter. After Krystal left the room, Mother bemoaned the fact that she can't see. She asked me who she looked like, I said she looked just like her mother, even down to the dimples in her cheeks. Except she has dark brown hair & her mother is blonde.

They were all so nice there. The doctor was this cute little girl. I know, if she's a doctor, she's not a little girl. But such a sweetheart & petite. I said to Mother, I'd certainly go to her if she had her own practice.

Mother has been concerned that the lump on her thigh is a blood clot. Her leg is bruised all the way around her thigh & down into her calf today. The big lump is still there. So, I asked the doctor. She said no, it was a surface lump & where Mother is on coumadin, it wasn't likely to be a blood clot. I said that Mother's INR level has gotten so low that sometimes she's had TIA's, little strokes. They took Mother's protime & did some blood work. Her INR was high, 3.8; her hemoglobin was low because of all the blood she lost. They were concerned because Mother's protime was so high. I said it wasn't that high. Therapeutic level for Mother is between 2.5 & 3.5.

The doctor told me I should've taken her to the ER & had her leg stitched. I told her that I didn't take her to the ER because Mother doesn't like the doctor's up here. Her skin is so fragile that stitches won't stay in. I guess they could have used butterfly bandages, but I didn't think they'd believe me.

Anyway, they took x-rays of her chest. First time I had seen a chest x-ray of Mother. You could certainly see the wires they'd wired her chest shut with after the open heart surgery & the pacemaker & it's wires.

Instacare is in the same building as Dr. Carlson, Mother's primary care doctor. The Instacare doctor walked across the foyer & talked to Dr. C about her protime level & hemoglobin. He said that her cardiologist follows her protime. Dr. Larkin, I-care doc, said to have the INR rechecked Monday. We'll have it done Tuesday because that is the day that Mother has the CPAP followup with Dr. C. We have her INR checked before we go to Dr. C.

Nick's been on one all day & Don didn't make things any better when he authorized Don-Mike to be on the Verizon account & not Nick. grrrrrrrr.

I woke up late & prolly wouldn't have woke up when I did, if Nick had not awakened me. He asked me what time I needed to be to work. I said I needed to be there at 9. He said that it was 9. I jumped up, grabbed my clothes & was almost dressed when the editor of the newspaper called to see where I was. I told him as soon as I put my pants on & took my meds I'd be there. Then my supervisor wanted to know what my problem was. She's already warned me that it doesn't matter how long I've been there, I can be replaced, sigh. Well, I have news for her, when they replace me, they'll have to pay the new person more than I'm making! The last 2 people, that I know of, make more an hour than I do. The next time the government raises minimum wage, I'll finally get a raise. I mentioned that to the business manager & she said, "We'll see." I said, "No! I'll see. The next raise will make minimum wage more than I make an hour." She said, "Oh."

Then Don was huffy when I mentioned that the dog hadn't been fed. I told him that I had not done my weekly hard drive back up at work because I would have been later than I was picking Mother up for DUP. We go to lunch on DUP day, because the new DUP captain has ruled that there will be no lunches at meetings, only refreshments. And, of course, refreshments always means sugar. So, next month, when it's our turn, mine & Mother's, to have DUP at Mother's house, we will serve tomato soup in mugs & little triangle grilled cheese sandwiches, LOL.

Tuesday is not a day that Mother gets a home-delivered meal. And, like this morning, I'm usually running late & don't have anything to eat in the morning.

Right after DUP I'd taken Mother to Instacare, came home & taken long enough to heat Mother's supper up. I stopped at the grocery store & came home. Don got his outdoor stuff on & I told him to wait, I'd walk down with him. We walked out of the garage & I couldn't see because it was so dark. I mentioned a flashlight & he said he was ok. I said I wasn't. He huffily told me to go back & get a flashlight. I told him I'd be glad to when I dug myself out of the snowbank I'd fallen into.

Then, Nick decided he didn't like the soup I'd made tonight. I gave him 3 options that he could fix himself. Don-Mike told him there was garlic bread. I'd cut generous hunks of garlic bread - 2 soft inner pieces - which is what Don-Mike & Nick like.

So, I'd been running all day. I was grateful Don watered & fed the dog. He's done that for me the last 2 days. Tomorrow, I'll make a conscious effort to feed Mufasa earlier in the day, before the vet visit. Tomorrow is a vet appt for Prissy. If I had another cat carrier, I'd be able to take Sammy with & save an office visit. He has been in a fight & has a bad eye. I'll try for Friday afternoon for Sam.

What a weekend

I probably should be sharing this over on Mother's Caring Bridge site. Perhaps I'll copy some of it over later.

Don-Mike took the initiative & got his old cell phone turned on so that he has a phone until his new one comes on Monday or Tuesday. I had thought we were going to take his new old phone, or Nick's new old phone & give it to Mother. Nick, however, has found this really cool way of using your cell phone through your landline. It costs $150 just to get the equipment to do it. They, Nick & Don-Mike, want to get that set up before they add a line for Mother. I haven't had the energy to fight for just the cell phone yet, but may have to, as Lyola (Mother's lifelong friend) called yesterday & today. Lyola got a cell phone for Christmas. A Verizon cell phone, no less.

Now, to explain the "new old" phone. About March, Nick had a meltdown & broke his phone. Just snapped it in two. He went online & found some parts on E-bay & fixed it. He got his phone working again. Then something else went wrong, equipment failure. He took it down to the Verizon store in Logan & they gave him a brand new phone. So, he had this fairly new phone, he'd only used it a few months. But with Verizon you can update your phone every 2 years. In September he was eligible for an update. He wanted a Chocolate 3. He got the Chocolate 3. He gave the replacement Razor (new old phone) to Don-Mike because Don-Mike's phone was broken. Something had hit his pocket & smashed the window on his Razor. He wouldn't use Nick's phone. He wanted his own phone. So, for Christmas Don & Don-Mike got new phones. Actually, only Don got the new phone for Christmas.

Yesterday I decided I had to bite the bullet & clean Mufasa's kennel. The snow had piled up on the kennel & we've had a few warm days. One day it was up to 45° & the snow melted & dripped through. Mufasa was up to his ankles in mud & crud. I hadn't cleaned his kennel out in several weeks. So, I asked Kim if I could have Eddie come & help me. Well, he was a big help in getting the dog in & out of the kennel, but not much help in the actual cleaning. Don-Mike told me not to be like my mother & overdo. I told him that I had had an excellent example of how to overdo in watching both of my parents & their siblings.

Eddie tied Mufasa up to a fence pole & went back to the house. It took me 3 and half hours & I did get Eddie down to help shovel some of the soiled straw, but it smelled foul. Eddie had his t-shirt pulled up over his nose so he wouldn't throw up. By then I was so stuffed up I couldn't smell. I sent him back to the house. I brought Mufasa's pans up & cleaned them up & sat & rested for a little while. I was almost finished when Mother called to tell me she'd fallen & her face & leg was bleeding. She needed some help. I hurried & finished what I was doing. It was almost dark & thankfully Don was home.

It's January & Don has to work every day in January. Love the overtime, but sure do miss him on weekends. He gets very tired working every day.

I told Don & Eddie all they had to do was put the dog back in the kennel & make sure the door was secured so he wouldn't get out. I wasn't going to help because Mother had fallen & wanted some help.

Nick ran over to Mother's & I was not far behind him. She had fallen face first over a little flower stand. Quite a sturdy little stand that my father had made for Vera Smith many years ago. When Vera died, Reed brought the stand over & gave it to Mother. Her face had quit bleeding, but her shin took a long while to stop bleeding. She applied pressure & was using paper towels. She kept removing the paper towels & had a heap of bloody paper towels around her feet. By the time we got there, she had staunched the bleeding. Nick wanted to know if we should take her to the ER. I vetoed it, but tonight I'm not so sure. She told me where to get some band-aids. I told her that her skin is so fragile, that if we used a band-aid, it would tear her skin right off. She had some of the stretchy gauze that sticks to itself. Dr. Baker had given us some when she had the Mohs surgery on her arm. I used that & Nick went to the grocery store & bought some more.

Nick came home last night telling Don that it looked like Nana had been beat up. She looks worse today.

Tonight she has a big hard lump on her inner thigh & a huge bruise. She's afraid it's a blood clot. It probably is. Her shin was still bleeding tonight when I changed the bandage. It looked like it had just started bleeding again. Talk about wanting to throw up. My stomach is quite queasy when it comes to blood & gore. I swear that her shin is scraped to the bone. I tell you though, there is no yellow fat on that little skinny leg of hers.

Last night I stayed with Mother a couple of hours. I heated up some soup Luana had brought over & sat & had supper with her. I checked her shin before I came home. It had stopped bleeding.

My arm that has lymphedema in it was aching clear up into my shoulder last night. Today I feel like I've been beat up. My legs & back hurt & my arm still hurts, but I don't look like I've been beat up, LOL.

More about Mufasa

Mufasa finally seems to have settled down a little. Today he finally got fed in the daylight. I hate working until 6 p.m., & coming home in the dark. After Mufasa knocked me flat & I bumped my head so hard, I haven't dared go down by myself to feed him. I'm going to have to start doing it before work.

Today, I got home from Logan & my foray into Christmas shopping & it was still daylight, so Don & I went down to feed & care for him. His kennel needed cleaning out. I got the rake & was raking it up, while Don was holding Mufasa. I commented to Don that it looked like a horse stall. Don commented that he was as big a small horse.

I took one of the sleeping bags that Don & Don-Mike were going to throw away & put that in the corner where he sleeps.

He has been knocking his food bowl over & hasn't been eating his dog food. I bought the brand that Lynette told me to buy, it just wasn't chicken & rice, it was lamb & something. So, when I needed to buy more food, Wal-Mart still didn't have the chicken in that brand. They had more lamb, but I've been worried that he isn't eating. I bought Purina One in the chicken & rice. He gobbles it right up. I know it's not what she wants him fed, but I'm not about to drive to Brigham, just to see if they have the chicken in that brand.

Adventures with Mufasa

I'm sure I'll be able to laugh at this at some point in time. My head still hurts & I can still smell Mufasa. I must have manure on my shoes, I changed my dirty sweatshirt & washed my face & hands, but didn't change my shoes.

I slept until noon & still felt like I could have slept another hour or 2, but it was NOON. And good mornings start at noon. It took me another 10 or 15 minutes just to get up into a sitting position, much less jump up like a piece of toast. I fed the cats, cleaned their litter box & I could smell my towels in the washer. I had washed them on Monday & forgot to reboot them by putting them in the dryer. Yesterday, Wednesday, I went out in the laundry room & could smell them. I run them through a cycle with vinegar. So, I put a scoop of Borax in the washer & ran them through another cycle. I took my meds, got dressed & decided I'd better care for Mufasa. It's much easier to care for him in the morning than at midnight.

He hadn't been let out of the kennel since Monday & I could see that there were quite a few piles of manure. So, I got his purple rope, put it around his neck & let him out. He was so excited he was dancing around & jumping up on me. I went over on my back like a felled tree. I didn't even have a chance to yell timber. I hit my head, hard. I laid there & yelled & yelled for Don-Mike until my throat was raw. The dog was still, but as soon as I moved, he was right there, pushing me back down. Finally, he stood still & let me use him to stand up. I was dizzy & felt like I was going to throw up.

Don-Mike had driven a fence post in the middle of the garden so we could put Mufasa on a leash & let him be out of the kennel. I put him on that, gave him some water & walked on up to the house. Don-Mike had the radio on in the garage & there was no way he could have heard me screaming. I'm just glad one of the neighbors didn't see or hear & call the police.

I took a rake & went down & raked out his kennel. I felt like I was cleaning out a cow stall!! Then took a garbage sack & filled it up with straw & manure. I didn't put any more straw back in. I thought I'd save the straw for his bedding. Then I put feed & water in the kennel.

Don-Mike brought this very long nylon rope down. I said I didn't want to use it because I didn't want him to get to me. When I was finished, I took the long nylon rope & tied one end to the kennel and tied the other one around Mufasa's neck. I used slip knots because they are the only kind I know how to tie that won't come untied. I didn't want Mufasa roaming the neighborhood.

By then, I was sweating freely & felt even worse than I had earlier. I put the towels in the dryer & went in the front room & sat down. I was dirty & sweaty & tired. I can't be disheveled because my hair isn't long enough to be disheveled. It's always disheveled. You can't tell whether I've combed it or not. Don didn't even notice or speak to me. He was reading The Preston Citizen. That irritated me. I said waspishly, "At least Don-Mike asked if I was all right." Don asked what was wrong & I told him. I said that now I'm afraid of Mufasa.

Finally Don got off of Runescape long enough to go to the convenience store & get some refills. First, I wanted to go tell Mother that we hadn't forgotten her. We were still planning on having dinner at her house.

We got our refills & I went down to check on Mufasa. He barked at me from under the trampoline. I thought that was clever, he'd shaded up. I had pushed the lawnmowers & tiller over under the tramp so they'd be sheltered a little bit from the weather, since Mufasa now occupied their shed.

I had noticed earlier that the sleeping bags that Don & I had used in the camper were in a trailer that Don-Mike uses to put garbage in. When it fills up, he takes it to the land fill. So, I decided to pull one or both of them out & put them in Mufasa's kennel. They were at the bottom of the trailer, wouldn't you know it? I tugged & pulled, moved other garbage & finally got one out. It was wet, so I walked over to the tramp to throw it over it to let it dry out.

I walked around the tramp to check on Mufasa & he was in a predicament. The rope was wrapped around an aspen tree & several times around the frame of the tramp. The rope was wrapped so tightly that he was hog-tied to the tramp.

This time I decided that I wouldn't try to untangle him alone. I went back to the house & asked Don & Ed to come help me. I was trying to undo the slip knot around his neck. It was so tight that at first I couldn't even get my fingers under it. I finally loosened it up a little & here came Eddie. Mufasa, of course, wanted to go greet him. He stood up & was trying to get to Eddie, &, in the effort, was tightening the rope. My fingers weren't strong enough to loosen the knot. Eddie decided to go get some wire cutters. I said to let Don-Mike know we were going to cut his rope. It will have to be cut anyway because Mufasa had been gnawing on it & gnawed through one of the strands. Don asked to let him try. I let him & in a matter of seconds, had it untied. By then we had the purple rope back on him. Eddie & Don took him over to the kennel to put him in. I stayed by the tramp & untangled the rope.

When I finished with the rope I walked over to help with caging Mufasa. Don took charge of this activity. He took the short blue rope, put it around Mufasa's neck & had Eddie hold it through the fence, back by the food & water. I was door keeper. I held the door shut & as soon as Eddie had the rope, I opened the door & Don walked out, with Mufasa lunging on the leash. I shut the door & Eddie let go.

To lock the kennel gate is quite complicated. First, the traditional latch on a kennel door is latched. Next, a bolt is slid into place at the bottom of the gate to hold it shut. There is a metal hole, held in place by a brick. After that, a tie down is put across the bottom on the outside of the gate. There is already one on the inside that is not removed. The outside tie down is even with the inside one. Then, there is a tie down across the top even with the latch. Meanwhile, the whole time you're securing the gate, Mufasa is jumping & whining, wanting to get out.

It took almost 3 hours to do all of this. I went to get the rope off of Mufasa & in all of this commotion, his food bowl had been tipped over & the food was all over the ground, sigh.

After caring for the dog, I feel like I've had my exercise. Why pay money to go to a gym? I get paid to work out by dog sitting.