No Stars In My Eyes

Story on line about Kobe Bryant being killed in a helicopter crash this morning. Left behind his wife and 3 or 4 children. He was 41 years old.

So, Campbell's Tomato Soup ... who makes it with milk, who makes it with water? Just curious.

Afternoon, approaching evening... I figured out my checking account balances, went to the credit union, filled up my gas tank, snagged a large cup of ice-tea (from the little family restaurant's take-out window), and came home; gathered all the indoor trash up and took the trash barrel to the street for morning pickup. And now I am listening to Nannie's Fractured Fairy-tales. Unfortunately hers are not as funny or interesting as the ones they used to show on TV. Nannie did tell me that Ozzie is "very honest about things he does," ... whatever that means! And after I read her the 3-day forecast from the newspaper, she asked, "Does it say I would go to sleep?" Whaaa? In the paper? I don't think they make predictions for that kind of thing. I wouldn't buy a Fit-Bit, but I wouldn't mind borrowing one just to see what it says about my sleep habits. I wonder if those things are set or programmed by whomever, for the certain # of hours considered "normal", and what movements or lack of same constitute 'fair' to 'good' sleep?... Because we ALL know there is no normal. I think I sleep pretty darn well, most of the time, all things considered. Yeah, that thing about having patients who are younger than you...When I worked on the Spinal Cord Unit at MGH I was 21 and 22, and there were more than a few at my same age or younger who'd either had a critical diving accident, or a motorcycle or car accident, and even a few who tried to off themselves without success. One had jumped off the Mystic River Bridge, and he was surly to everybody because he was still alive, and asked me once why the heck I was being so nice to him? Anyway, it sure gave me an appreciation that I had legs that functioned as they were made to, and that after 8 hours, I could go home under my own steam. I was worried at the time, about Guilliane-Barre (sp?) as we had 3 patients with that in 2 years time, and no on was sure back then how it was transmitted ... but even though no one was on precautions, it still gave me icy chills to think of numbness starting in my feet and working its way up my body. Hello to all. May all our evenings be "Q".

I hear that happens to folks with Alzheimer's ... no self control.

MmmmMMMMM!

Soooo, Ted ... If I shipped Nannie up there, maybe you could take her to that-there annual church meeting in two weeks? Yeh? No? Oh well, it was worth a try.

COLD this morning. Frost, too! Tweety, Your temp was 38 degrees. It was 20 here this early AM and warmed up to 42 degrees. Which is not to say it was warm, exactly, but it felt good to be able to say that we were warmer than Florida! (But you can keep the disappointed tourists; we had them here during a not-too-colorful Fall-leaves Season.) BCg, do you remember Juicey Brucie Bradley on WBZ radio, intoning "FROST ON THE BOGS!" ...it was the cranberry bogs to which he was referring. I don't know if the frost on the bogs signified something, or if he just liked to say it that way. I still like to say it, but ain't nobody down here knows naught about cranberry bogs. So I guess I just say it for my own amusement. I am easily amused. j22, Good Grief! Quite a busy and confusing day you had! I would be ultra-annoyed with the eye-doctor's office. But AT LEAST, the GOOD thing is that you missed out on connecting with The Crazy One and having to deal with her questions! Joe, sounds like you also had a rather crappy day. My theory about work is that every time they hire someone new, that new person comes up with yet another 'better' way to deal with something. Then, when their method falls through (or they quit), something new is pulled out of someone's, uh, 'abyss'. I cannot tell you how many times during my 30 years with that one agency, things that were touted as being a big improvement would suddenly END! Once there was a big hullaballoo about company policies; there was a mandatory meeting and everyone was required to sign up. We were issued a 3-ring notebook and given 10 or so pages: printed copies of paper which included a table of contents, and the first of the policies. We were instructed to keep this 3-ring notebook in the trunk of our cars, for easy and quick reference. Well. Imagine my astonishment when there were -- no more meetings, no more page copies, no nothing, and nothing said about why it was started or why it ended. I carried that nearly empty 3-ring notebook in my car for a year and a half and finally tossed it all out. What incredible STUPIDITY that company frequently displayed. Why pull together a table of contents if there were to be NO MORE contents? Wasted time, wasted paper. Pfftt! I did the grocery shopping today. When I got back, and was going through the front door as Nannie was going out the back door. (Hubby was up in his room) When I came down to the den, I saw ... no Nannie anywhere! And there sat her unused walker. So, I went out the back door as she came back around from the front of the house. She had on NO COAT, a turtleneck jersey. a pair of thin pajama bottoms, ankle socks with thin little shoes, and she was carrying her purse, a dry wash cloth, a kleenex, and an entire roll of toilet paper. She said she was trying to find out if she was going to get a ride to the meeting at the church or if she was going to have to walk. (It's approximately 2 & 1/2 miles away) Got her back inside, told her there was not any meetings going on at the church. "Why didn't they call and tell me?" ... / ??What, you mean call you to say there is nothing is going on? There was nothing scheduled in the first place! / "Well they should have called me." / Nannie, you haven't been to that church for two years! /"But, I had an excuse." / That's not the point. Their schedule is written on the back of the Sunday program-notes. If there is something scheduled, it notes what it is and when it is. If there's nothing scheduled they don't have to inform everybody that nothing is going on. / "Well, (harumph) That is no way to run a business." / It's a church, not a 'business'. THEN she said, "Well, who are those two women in your car? I thought you were going to give THEM a ride to the church." / There is nothing to go to at the church, and there are no women in my car. / "I saw their heads! Two women!" / What you saw was the headrests. / "No, I saw them and they were waiting for you." ..... and etc.etc.etc.etc ... Oh herring! Flea-Bite-Us? Oh no! Glad you got rid of them and got a new bug-proof mattress. For years I slept on a foam mattress on the floor, and everyone who saw it said I was a hippie! In later years, I got son-in-law to build me a sturdy platform bed. I like it better than box-springs. In the morning, in the evening, ain't we got fun?!

Sometimes we get the threads mixed up and kind of automatically, mindlessly follow the previous post. Which is how "First Word that comes to mind" or "Game of Questions" responses get on a thread like this, which is for groan-worthy stuff. There's been many times I've posted on the Question thread ... without a question.

Here's a good one~ Nannie told how her husband, (as a full grown man) found her at the hospital where she had her feet operated on over 75 years ago, and he asked at the front desk, "Where's that little girl with the leg casts, who has something bad-wrong with her?" Then he came to her bedside and hugged her really tight and told her what a pretty little girl she was. Then someone else said, "She's hearing voices." And, she said, "That's MY voice I'm hearing." And the next day, ______ (MY hubby) drove her home. Good trick for a guy who hadn't been born yet! Talk about your fantastic time-travels! Later she was trying to tell me about something, and couldn't find the words, and said, "Oh, you know what I'm talking about... to which I answered, "No, I don't have any idea what you're talking about." And making a horizontal whirling motion with her hand, she said, "You know, that thing with the whip that goes around and around inside the jar." (I still don't know, but didn't ask a second time.)

wheeze

Okay.

Aw, geez, it is, as they say down here, "right airish". By which I mean the air has quite a sharp, crisp edge to it. At least it is sunny and we have yet to experience any frozen precipitation. I sat in the sun on the front porch for a while, wearing: a turtleneck jersey, a Henley jersey, a fleece vest, a heavier hoodie, and a sweatshirt material jacket. I have a few winter coats, but the layers work better. The trouble I have with winter coats is that my arms are too long for most of the women's coats, which means air sneaks up my sleeves. I do have some fleece things called "wristies" which help that, because usually glove lengths are too short, as well. Ozzie is wrapped in a blanket and sleeping on the sofa next to me. Nannie is going through her Christmas cards, which she said someone "hid" from her. She has repeatedly gone through received cards, and the envelopes on which we made note of sending a return card, and the extra blank cards we had set aside with their blank envelopes. She has them all mixed up and keeps trying to put large cards into small envelopes, and wanting to put empty, but addressed envelopes (to her, this past X-mas) up on her bedroom door. Uh-huh, okay then. She has read everything out loud at least 6 times, and hubby has been trying to get her to toss a bunch of it, with only so-so success. Next time she goes into the bathroom, we will 'disappear' all of it! Have to get hubby to call the doctors office and make an appt for Nannie, to take her over there for the nurse to do an in-and-out cath, to collect a urine sample. Due to her clenched-tight fat thighs it'd be impossible to get a clean catch from her! ( She is jumpy, and makes it tough to get 'down there' to clean Nannie's Crannies during a bath!) Tomorrow I get to pay bills, go to the credit union and post office and grocery store, and maybe, if I can manage it time and money-wise, I'll get my nails done ... or not. Probably not. No itinerary today that I know of. Another exciting day in paradise.

"Everything's good on a Ritz!"

Had to dash back by to tell you the 'BIG NEWS' ... from the mouth of Nanny, who had her eyes closed, becoming drowsy, as it was close to time for going to bed. Out of nowhere, she spoke out~ ~This seemed SO important to her that she actually spoke loudly and with unusual clarity to her speaking voice, with her index finger pointing up at the end of her outstretched hand. She proclaimed: "THEY HAVE FOUND MAHOGANY EARTHWORMS!" It struck me as something that must be shared, shouted from the roof-tops, maybe. Maybe someone, somewhere will be able to say what mahogany earthworms mean for the future of the Earth, and to us as individuals. I mean, like, wow, man!

I tried to post this a while ago but for some reason I couldn't get the little up-and-down scroller thingy to work. So I just closed down I retrieved my post by just clicking on this 'empty' box and my complete post appeared again as if by magic... A cold, but very sunny afternoon. Happy MLK Day.... Last night at one AM, I sat in the den with Nannie, who said she was hungry. She hadn't really slept much to that point; I was getting ready to head up to bed and read. I made a p'butter and banana sandwich, and we each had 1/2. When I saw she had just one inch of milk left in her glass and realized she was getting chatty, I raised my hand and told her I wasn't being rude, but it was quarter to one in the morning and I was heading up to bed. I didn't want to hear the story of her grandmother's boarding house, yet again! She went to bed. Whew! I sorta slept, or tried to, for two hours, then after that I woke up about every 30 minutes ... curses! Fell soundly asleep around 4:45 AM. Then at 9 AM the doorbell rang! WHAAAT???? It was the H/C guy to do his 6 month maintenance and check up. Well, Ozzie and I sat outside, he was all wrapped up in a blanket, in my lap, and I had coffee. The H/C guy finished up and left. We went back to bed at 10:30 and I got snug with Ozzie, we slept until 12:30 PM. Hubby told me later that the H/C guy was supposed to come at 1 PM; he had a note on his work order that said 'FIRST'...and apparently he'd read no further, because under that word it said 'after lunch'. Duh. As I sat on the sofa just now, I wondered what was scratchy at the front of my throat, and discovered I had put my turtleneck jersey and sweater on BACKWARDS this morning when I was getting dressed in a hurry. Another DUH! Nannie is blathering on about how the carpet on the steps look much cleaner, now that her Momma had washed it down! Pretty good work for a woman in her grave these past 25 years...(I did not say). Finishing the clothes drying that needed to be completed from yesterday. Next I will read my newspaper. It promises to be a "Q" day, but promises are made to be broken and we all know how what'shername gets. It looks to be about 2 & 1/2 hours before she starts doing her sundowning thing. I don't know what I clicked on, but just now the printed letters on this page got a lot larger. herring, in your last post yesterday you mentioned the police getting off free after beating up Rodney King. I remember how disbelieving I was at that decision made by the jury, when anybody with eyes who watched the video of it could, or should have been able, to see how obvious it was that the cops were G-U-I-L-T-Y. Anyway, when you wrote that you started singing, I remembered a quote I read two days ago, it said, "Life is a shipwreck, so we must remember to sing in the lifeboats". You sang. (nodding-head emoji should go here.) Good response. I'll probably stop by later. STAY WARM!!!! Okay, the scroller is working, so NOW I can post this!