Currently

The weather is a humid, soggy mess. It's 80 degrees at 9 p.m. Predicted storms did not come. Tomorrow is supposed to be around 90 degrees with humidity hovering around 90% again. Ugh.

My supervisor wants to take the entire department to a local park for a free program by a small local-ish zoo. A good idea. Except for the predicted temps and humidity along with a call for thunderstorms. Everyone is going to be hot, miserable, and possibly soaking wet. Yay.

I'm still reading a few pages here and there of My Friends and I picked up a copy of The Mother-Daughter Book Club. I'm sort of excited about that one. Maybe it'll get me back on track with my reading.

I've been watching Leverage: Redemption on Prime, America's Got Talent, and at the moment I have Expedition Files on.

The constant hum of the AC, the roar of the grands' jeep and dirt bike, and splashes from the pool are what I've been listening to this evening.

Our eating has been hit or miss this week as we aren't that hungry when it gets this hot. I did pick up a bumbleberry (red raspberry, blackberry, cherry, strawberry and blueberry all together) yesterday at a local berry farm and we enjoyed a slice with vanilla ice cream. Yum!

Things I'm thinking about include: my stepdad's health and Mom's mental state; our grandson's temper problems; a brother-in-law who just had the same basic procedure done that my stepdad did; Tim's truck that still isn't quite fixed; and how much I really, really, really don't want to go to the park tomorrow.

I'm feeling hot.

We aren't really celebrating anything at the moment.

I'm enjoying fresh cherries, strawberries, and raspberries.

My stepdad is coming home on Friday. I am...sort of grateful. His coming home also comes with a lot of concerns about how he and Mom will manage up on the ridge by themselves. The young couple who live across the road kind of keep an eye on the place and the husband mows the grass. Then this week, the wife, who is a nurse who works from home, gave Mom her phone number and told her to call any time, day or night, if she needed help. I'm very thankful for them.

And I'm giggling because laughter is good for the soul.

Thankful Thursday

I'm still not feeling very bloggy, but as I've always said, even in the darkest of times there are things to be thankful for...and I'm far from being in the darkest of times. So, here are some things I am thankful for this week.

1. Mom's back still hurts, but she is managing much better with the lidocaine patches and Tylenol than she was with pain killers and muscle relaxers. She is taking it easy, but is able to get out a bit each day to run an errand or two and visit my stepdad. That has improved her mood a tiny bit.

2. Tim's truck broke down on the way home last night. It's inconvenient that he's using my car till the weekend, but I'm grateful he thinks he will be able to fix it on Saturday (it's just a matter of having the time needed) and that our daughter is willing to drive me to work and pick me up. 

3. Tim got the pool pump moved and the water lines buried so we filled the pool up tonight and should be ready for pool season this weekend.

4. My joint pain is staying manageable.

5. It is time for my department to "volunteer" again and water the flowers in the downtown shopping area. It's physically tough for most of us who are older, but we have lots of young ones this year to do the really hard things like pull the big water tank around.

6. I made the final payment on our vacation rental.

7. The days are long and beautiful.

8. Tim has been coming home a little earlier than he used to.

9.  I'm also thankful I can still find joy and laughter, for friends and family who care about us (that includes online friends!), and for all the prayers and good thoughts I know are said for us.

Currently

Well, here we are...June 1. By the end of the month half of the year will be gone. What the heck?!?! Time needs to slow down just a wee bit.

Then again, 2026 is not proving itself to be the best of years so maybe I won't be all that sad to shut the door behind it.

I have to apologize for not being around that much lately. 

As most of you know, life has been a bit rough this year and it hasn't really let up. My stepdad is still in the nursing home. Is it for rehab or for good? We really don't have any answers about that yet. It has been around 80 days since he first entered the hospital back in March. Since then he has been in and out of the hospital, wound care facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and nursing homes. He turned 85 while in one facility or another. Mom will be 82 in August. She is stressed to the max and has become miserable and rather bitter and unkind toward nearly everyone. Tim and I seem to be the exceptions.

Last week Mom took what she thought was a small fall while at my stepdad's home on the ridge. She was lucky the neighbor was there cutting the grass and was able to help her get up. She has a knee and a hip replacement and wouldn't have been able to get up on her own. Cut to the next day and she woke up a bit stiff, but by noon had excruciating pain in her back. I took her to the ER after work and after 4 hours they decided it was probably muscular...though they did find a fractured rib and a fractured vertebra that were both on the way to healing, so older. That was when I found out she fell at least 3 times throughout the winter.

Mom came home with pain killers and muscle relaxers and hasn't been moving very well and is not really with it when she takes them. She called her PCP today and didn't take it well when they said she couldn't get in with him until August. She thanked them for "nothing" and hung up. We asked why she didn't ask for an appointment with one of the physician's assistants and she said, "I guess I wasn't thinking of them right then." She says if she still hurts tomorrow she's calling Urgi-care. I wish I could take off to take care of this but after March and taking the FMLA leave, I just can't. 

In other parts of the family, our daughter is doing pretty well. She still has issues to deal with, but it turns out some of her medications were responsible for the suicidal feelings. Now we are struggling with our grandson's temper and behavior. Part of it, I'm sure, is due to everyone but Tim and I giving in to him for most of his life. The rest is due to ADHD, anxiety, ODD, and quite possibly some drug interaction. It's so hard to watch a 9-year-old struggle with this stuff. We live in a cruel world.

Anyway, that's life these days, plus work. I'm just feeling drained and really don't have any blogging mojo to tap into these days. I'm going to give Currently a go, however.

Currently, I am...

Reading... A 30-day Journey Through the Prison Epistles

Watching... AGT's 20th Anniversary Special

Listening... to the AC in fan mode. Summer weather is finally here.

Eating... I made chicken noodle soup tonight.

Thinking... about pretty much everything. My mind won't shut off.

Feeling... worn out and all of this probably isn't doing much for the imflammation that plagues my joints.

Celebrating... nothing more than getting through each day.

Enjoying... getting the new porch fixed up and decorated and spending time out there.

Looking forward to... going on vacation next month.

Giggling...

Currently

I am

Reading... still nothing. I just can't seem to get into anything right now. There is too much going on and on my mind, I guess.

Watching... I don't think you can call it watching, but reruns of The Big Bang Theory are playing as background noise.

Listening... other than TBBT the AC is humming away. We hit 90 degrees today.

Eating... we had Salisbury steak meatballs and mashed potatoes tonight.

Thinking... about storage sheds (we are looking for a new one), all the things we need to do around here, vacation, the high price of EVERYTHING, and my mom and stepdad.

My stepdad is still at the nursing home. No one is saying anything yet about if this is temporary, permanent, or somewhere in between. He's still having a lot of pain and depending on pain meds to get through PT. His wounds are healing and doing pretty well...but his big toe is now a worry. Mom took him to see his wound care team today and in looking at it they started making faces and poking at it. Finally they said they could feel bone in the wound on his toe. They sent him for blood work and x-rays, rewrapped his feet and legs, told the nursing home not to touch his feet and Mom has to take him back on Thursday.

Feeling... starting to relax. It was a tough day at work.

Celebrating... nothing except Memorial Day is coming up.

Enjoying... longer days and forcing myself to be productive after work.

Looking forward to... the upcoming 3-day weekend.

Giggling...

Thankful Thursday

Wow, here we are speeding our way through May. Can you believe it's Mother's Day this weekend and next week will mark the middle of the month already? Sheesh...we aren't even getting to enjoy much in the way of warm, spring weather. Maybe I'll feel it's safe to plant outside soon. Maybe.

Oh well, weather grumbles aside, there is plenty to be thankful for this week.

1. My stepdad's spinal procedure went well. Obviously, he isn't up and doing jumping jacks, but the pain has stopped. He got out of bed today and they had him walk to the door of his room and back and then he sat in a chair for a while. Wonderful after more than a week of constant excruciating pain!

2. More good news, my stepdad should be released from the hospital tomorrow to move to a rehab facility. This one is much closer to home as wound care is not the priority any longer.

3. Mom seems a lot less stressed already.

4. Our son-in-law's father had a procedure today to implant a device that will make a faulty heart valve work right. He ended up in a room just a few doors down from my stepdad so Mom stopped to see him. She reported that he was sitting up and feeling fine.

5. Our daughter discovered termites at my mom's house. She called the man who treated her house for them and he gave a low ball price due to all Mom's been dealing with and got her on the list for about 2 weeks from now.

6. Mom's (relatively) newer deck that is made out of composite has been leaning. She thought it was sinking and called someone to take a look and give and estimate on fixing it. He charged $350 to look (very unethical) and has never come back and won't answer her calls. Our daughter and the termite guy discovered the post in the "sinking" corner has rotted (no termites). Tim propped it up last night and will put all new posts under it this weekend. 

7. My coworker and I have been working on the decorations for June's company picnic. I think I've mentioned it's a Wild West theme. He's been working on murals painted on paper with cacti, fences, and an old west town. I've been making cacti out of paper plates to put on all the tables. They are turning out so cute and everyone loves them! The photo doesn't show the ones I've made (I never thought to take pictures today) but mine are like these, but all in shades of green.

7. I had fun last night taking my granddaughter to get our nails done.

8. My "check engine" light came on today. I stopped at Auto Zone to have them use their diagnostic gizmo and it turns out I need a new battery. I'll get it done this weekend as it's just starting to go and hasn't given me any trouble other than making the light come on. I'm relieved it wasn't anything worse.

9. We had a very successful day selling our crafts at the softball opener last Saturday.

That's just some of this week's blessings and this is where I'm going to call it a night. Happy Friday to you and enjoy your weekend!

Currently

I am

Reading... I'm ashamed to say it's still nothing. Just too much going on.

Watching... American Idol. They're down to the top 5 and this week they have the top 5 from the 2006 season on.

Listening... to the air conditioner. After some pretty chilly days it's warm again. Unfortunately, it's only for one more day and then it's back to rainy and cool.

Eating... I just enjoyed a big, hard pretzel.

Thinking... about an idea for a way to give back. I was talking to a friend who runs a free-store at her church. People donate and EVERYTHING is free to anyone who wants to go look. I had a thought after watching a reel on Facebook and asked her what if we took her store to nursing homes as sort of a pop-up boutique and let residents "shop" like they used to. My friend is excited, too. She's got to get her son better before we can do anything, though. He hurt his knee playing football last year and has had several surgeries already and may have to endure one more. He's in a lot of pain. Seventeen and he can barely manage to get from the bed to the bathroom. Poor guy. Anyway, looking forward to seeing if we can make this happen.

Feeling... relaxed.

Celebrating... a successful day selling our crafts on Saturday and that today was a really good day.

Enjoying... that it's staying light outside past 8:00.

Looking forward to... taking my granddaughter with me to get our nails done after work on Wednesday.

Before I get to the giggles, here's a little bit of an update on my stepdad. He is still in the hospital. They went in and put a stent in an aneurysm behind his left knee on Friday. That went well, but it's the fractured vertebra they found that is causing him terrible pain. They are going to put a needle into his spine on Wednesday and inject stuff that is supposed to fuse the vertebra and bring instant relief. 

I don't know why, but Mom seems to be so sure they are going to mess up and the needle is going to "end up in the wrong place." If it does, it won't be a good thing. Even if all goes well he is probably going to have to go to a rehab facility again for a couple of weeks. He has a LOT of little issues going on and is depressed. Mom doesn't seem to think he's going to be around much longer. He is 85, but there really isn't anything that imminent, but I learned with my adoptive dad...attitude is a huge part of the battle and if the fight has gone out of him...

Whew after that we need a laugh.

Giggling at...

Read all of it, not just the part circled in red.

A Small Update

My stepdad is still in the hospital. It's weird. They say he's there for observation. They also say that means he isn't really in the hospital. Can someone please explain that one to me? I mean...he's in their bed, eating their food, being taken care of by their staff...I don't get it. Neither does Mom. She's worried what Medicare will have to say about that.

Anyway, they've run more tests and he's been poked and prodded by an army of people. So far they say he has a small aneurysm in his left leg (the other that started all the problems was in his right leg) and a fractured vertebrae. Mom asked what could have caused the fracture and was told "old age." Bottom line is they are going to keep "observing" him because they have no idea why he is experiencing so much pain. They just keep giving him pain meds, which have him more than a little fuzzy around the edges.

Another update concerning the consumer at my workplace. He was suspended, but today all the members of his team met and decided the best choice was to withdraw him from the program. I can't lie, everyone is pretty relieved.

Now I'm off to try and catch up with some of you and also with American Idol.