I was awake at 5 am hacking up a lung for some reason. Then I started itching and the lotion I use, Sarna, did nothing for it so I took an Allegra. When I crawled out of bed at 8 this morning, my nose started imitating a water faucet.
I was supposed to go to a birthday lunch at Ethos this noon but I called and let them know I was headed back to bed. I did a Covid test just to be extra cautious and it came back negative.
I managed to put on a wash and changed linen on the bed but I can tell I’m off with my balance more than usual. I suspect it likely the past two weeks caught up with me. At least I wore a mask while on the planes. Sometimes I forget that I’m 76 years old and need to slow down and not do so much.
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Yesterday, while bringing in the garbage and yard waste bin, I noticed my wild coffee is blooming.
Wild Coffee Psychotria nervosa
I love how glossy green the leaves are. You can see why it is called nervosa with the prominent leaf venation. The tiny white flowers will eventually produce red “coffee”berries. They don’t contain caffeine but you can dry them and roast them for a drink. Both the coffee you know and this one belong to the family Rubiaceae (coffee family).
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My nephew Billy just texted and said Tanis was in a stasis-like condition at the moment. They have been able to ask yes or no questions and she responds. They’ll probably take her off the ventilator next week.
I forgot to blog about movie night! We saw In Search of the Castaways by Jules Verne as interpreted by Walt Disney. I first saw this movie when I was 14 and fell in love with it. I had not read this particular novel by Verne but I had read most of his other novels by that time.
It had a stellar cast with Maurice Chevalier, Haley Mills, George Sanders and Wilfrid Hyde-White. As with any Verne novel, the protagonists are constantly in danger and surviving at the last minute. The movie was released in 1962 and it still holds up to this day.
Tucker and I were roughhousing between bathroom breaks and I managed to knock over Chris’ wine glass. Fortunately, it broke on a rug I put down for Tucker and it was an easy clean up and Tucker didn’t cut his toes.
Today started with a sweep (not rake) of the west side walk for the baby mangoes released by the tree and the small branches to which they were attached. I’m always sad to see the baby mangoes fall but the tree has to shed many in order to produce enough mature fruit which will then fall into my stomach.
I next cleaned the pump filter and the pool filter, watered the plants, hosed off the pool deck and put chemicals in the pool after skimming the leaves from the gumbo limbo tree which is shedding. That’s the third day in a row I’ve had to remove leaves from the pool and the fourth time in three days since one day I had to do it twice. Leaves are going to be the death of me.
I’m texting my nephews and niece quite frequently to keep up with what is going on in Brandon with my brother and in Jackson with Tanis. Tanis’ stroke has shaken my brother to his core which I understand. Billy and David broke it to him yesterday that she will probably never recover the left side of her body, will be in a wheel chair, and will probably never come home to Brandon again. That last part really hurt him. They are joined at the hip.
The niece and nephews are doing their absolute best to help. All have promised to take care of Archie even though Tanis will be in rehab or a nursing home the rest of her life.
It’s taking a personal toll on me, being 1000 miles away. I think that is what was bothering me yesterday. It’s both physical and mental with me and I am sure it is with them. At least I had enough energy today to do what I did. This is going to be a long haul.
I had a breakfast invitation today from Barb but I had to turn her down. I used the excuse of a CT scan but the reality is I just didn’t feel up to it. I started the morning walk but turned around halfway and managed the amazing mileage of 0.3 miles. My legs felt weak and I didn’t feel well.
Either the CT scan or the echocardiogram (or both) says not to have any caffeine 5 hours before the test. Since I can’t remember, there’ll be two days without my morning coffee. Grumpy just got grumpier.
The other big excitement this morning was balancing my checking account. I was off by $0.11. Instead of hunting for the error, I just did a reconciliation.
My neighbor is mowing my yard this morning. I really appreciate him doing this. I gave up that activity several years ago and don’t miss it one whit.
Next week is busy with a visit with my endocrinologist, my echocardiogram and a follow us with my cancer surgeon. Might as well get it all done in one week, huh?
No word on Tanis today. I did talk to Archie last night. He seems to be holding up OK but is terribly worried about Tanis. He told me he visited her yesterday (maybe he did) and she didn’t look well. I told him Billy said she had her eyes open and was responding to stimuli on the right side. He was relieved. Apparently, he visited early and she started to open her eyes after he left.
My thoughts are still with Chris and Judith. Their son had a devastating skiing accident in Utah. He’s currently in Atlanta where they have an excellent neurology department.
Life just keeps happening – for the better and for the worse.
I think I should start a list of pros and cons for moving to an independent living facility. First on the pro list is I wouldn’t have to worry about a plumber. I’d just call maintenance.
Surprisingly, Kyle plumbing had an availability for me from 11 am – 1 pm yesterday. I grabbed it. Ralston showed up just a little after 12:15 and immediately quoted me a price of $309 to replace the float. I assume that included labor. After payment, he soon got started and then called out to me.
Apparently the shut off valve was frozen and needed replacement. I would have been suspicious of that but I had tried months ago and couldn’t budge it so I knew it was legit. Once more into the breech with my credit card and $208 later, he worked on the shut off valve. Pressure from the water heater prevented him from soldering the connection so he had to turn off the water heater and release the pressure.
He did a good job. The toilet works now. $517 poorer, I can flush the toilet without having to lift the lid to jiggle the float. If anything else goes wrong with the toilet, I may put an outhouse in the back yard with corn cobs for toilet paper. Trust me, I’ve been there, done that and it’s not bad. Those fuzzy cobs are better than the best toilet paper.
Today, I attempt to clean the house a little. It’s movie night and it’s Chris’ turn to select the movie. Tucker doesn’t care as long as the treats keep coming.
Tanis has her eyes open, her color is back and she’s more responsive than yesterday. Still no word on the CT scan nor the MRI. For the severity of the stroke, she seems to be doing well.
I admit to despairing a little this week with my brother’s dementia, my niece and nephews having to take off work last week to help out, Tanis’ stroke, the stress on my brother, niece and nephews. However, all have stepped up with this latest crisis, even my brother’s ex. All have jobs they’ve either put on hold or work around the hours of their employment. I’m not sure where all this will result in and it’s the unknown that bothers me the most.
For family members that are disparate, they certainly have come together as one to cope with the circumstances.
Her son Billy spent the night with Tanis and reports they took the crash cart away during the night. She can open her eyes a bit and responds to stimuli on the right side but not the left. Her son David will relieve Billy later today. My brother has a home health care aid in today for 4 hours and his ex, Carolyn, so that helps. I’m sure the next few days will determine a lot.
I managed to get some sleep last night but it was an uneasy sleep. I got up a 7 and had coffee and cereal and then did my morning walk (1.0) miles. I am still too out of shape.
Just as I set out on my walk, I ran into a beautiful branch of frangipani (Plumeria).
The genus is named after the French botanist Plumier who was an early explorer and collector in the New World.
The branches are succulent like Aloe vera and they produce a poisonous latex.
Toward the end of the finger canal street, I saw Denyse pull out to go to work. She sometimes cleans my pool when I’m away on long trips. I really like her. She never hesitates to stop and talk with me and catch up. I really do have good neighbors!
With everything happening to Tanis and Archie, it’s been hard to get back into a routine. I certainly have some anxiety for them, Ashley, Billy and David. I do have a clear schedule today and tomorrow and Thursday I go in for a CT scan to determine my cardiac calcium score. The new cardiologist wants to compare the new score to the old score to see how much more calcification has occurred.
Oh! I have to call the plumber. My toilet will flush but will not refill. In old toilets, there was a copper float you could work with but with the newer toilets, you have to replace the apparatus. I’m too old and stupid to do that any more so I’ll call a professional to do it. Unfortunately, they always have to order the part.
What started as a routine day: blood draw, pick up a friend at an auto repair shop, have breakfast with the friend, grocery shop, turned into a crisis when I found out from my nephew David my sister-in-law, Tanis, had a stroke and a diabetic crisis.
I had just been to Mississippi and returned on Saturday to help my niece and nephew clean up around the house since my brother and Tanis were not physically able to do so. A lot of progress was made and I left feeling like something had been accomplished but there was much more to do.
Tanis is in good hands at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. They are going to try to remove the blood clot and deal with her diabetic issues. Once the surgery for the clot is completed, she’ll be sent to ICU where her sons can visit her. All have rallied around her.
I’m not sure if I need to go back to Mississippi but I’m sure David and Ashley will let me know and keep me updated. Regardless, it’ll be a long recovery for Tanis and both she and Archie will have to rely more on Ashley, Billy and David.
I was asleep by 10:30 pm and stayed in bed until 10 am. I must have been a little worn down by the travel. Luckily, I remembered most of my morning routine, at least somewhat. I got confused in making the coffee but finally got it going.
I put a wash on. Usually, when I unpack the suitcase, which I did last night, I then wash clothes. I just wasn’t up for it so I put it off until this morning. There’s one load of underwear, socks, shirts and another load of bluejeans.
The pool has a few (hundred) leaves I need to remove before I turn the pump back on. I’ll probably do it either late today or tomorrow.
I got news today that I have been negative six times in a row for cancer with the Signatera test. Let’s hope I keep it that way. That’s 18 months cancer free.
Most of the day will be spent washing, drying, folding, and ironing clothes. We are predicted 70% rain so maybe it will occur and I won’t clean the pool today. It’s another reason I’m interested in independent living.
I spent some time trying to turn my printer on so I could print the Signatera report but it wouldn’t oblige. After doing a Google search telling me to check the plug, I finally realized I was pushing the wrong button. Such is my life.
At least I didn’t try to brush my teeth this morning with Benadryl Anti-itch cream. I was up at 7, packed at 7:30, had coffee with Jean and drove to the airport where I backed up and hit a pole. There was no damage to the car – not sure about the pole.
I spent a lot of time sitting in the Jackson airport wondering if I was at the correct gate. They did not list the gate to the Atlanta flight. At almost boarding time, they finally put up a gate, fortunately only one away from where I was.
Atlanta was the usual mad house but I managed to navigate it with minimal trouble. The Jackson flight to Atlanta was 52 minutes and the Atlanta flight to Fort Lauderdale was 1 hour and 24 minutes. We detoured a little on the Fort Lauderdale flight – actually twice, but we made it on time.
I found out there is a special place at the airport to pick up an Uber. Of course, it’s a distance away but at least they now allow Uber to pick you up. We pulled into my driveway at 6:24 pm. I’m exhausted. I ordered groceries, took a shower, and plan to vegetate for the next few days.
I was so exhausted yesterday and didn’t really seem to do much. Maybe I need to read my blog yesterday to see what tired me so. I think the week is catching up to me.
I was so out of it this morning I started brushing my teeth and decided the toothpaste wasn’t foaming up like it usually does. I then realized it didn’t taste right. I had been brushing with Benadryl anti-itch cream. I can truly say my teeth didn’t itch all day long.
It reminded me of the time I used Scrubbing Bubbles instead of spray starch while ironing shirts. I couldn’t figure out why it was foaming so much.
Today was shopping day: grocery shopping at Walmart and home goods also at Walmart. I hate large department stores. It was a comedy of errors. We had finally convinced my brother to use the walker supplied by the VA. You can use it as a stroller or as a seat. Instead, he gives it to Tanis who takes off. My brother figures he’ll use the electric shopping cart. It was not charged. Neither was the second. By the time I found one and brought it to him, he had gotten one that worked. Somewhere in the store was my brother, my sister-in-law, and niece. Amazingly, we finally found each other in the giga-store and made it out alive, albeit a little poorer.
Next, after dropping groceries at home as well as my sister-in-law and niece, Archie and I headed to Ace Hardware to have 3 keys made, and to pick up some room AC filters, light bulbs, phone line splitter, phone line, and staples to keep the phone lines around the trim and doors. I was greeted at the door and a gentleman immediately begin working on the keys. I started shopping, found another worker and he took me throughout the store and helped me shop every item. If I had gone to Home Depot, I would have to hunt for a worker and then they would not know the answer. I’m a dedicated fan of Ace Hardware.
Of course, I left today with the three keys in my pocket and will have to mail them to Ashley. I changed the filters in the room AC, replaced some light bulbs, and worked on the phone. I’m still missing a piece from an old fashioned telephone that hung from a wall with a cord to the phone. I’ll order that and send to Ashley.
I said goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. Parting really is such sweet sorrow.
I’ll leave tomorrow on Delta around 12:15 pm and arrive in Fort Lauderdale around 5:1 5 pm. It’ll be good to get home.
Special thanks to Roger and Jean who put me up and put up with me. We had quite a few laugh and giggle sessions after I got back at night. I’ll miss them immensely.
Raleigh, Pucket, Forkville, Independence, Bay Springs. More names that pop up that bring out more memories for me. I’ve been to all under all kinds of circumstances, whether church related or skating rinks, or just trips with my Grandmother Ruby. She had a bit of wanderlust in her which seems to have been passed on to me.
In route to visit my cousins Charles, Minnie Jean and Regina, I stopped at the Sims’ Hill Cemetery to visit some relatives. There are some Tadlocks (maiden name of my Grandmother) and other relatives there in addition to a lot of the people I went to school with or the parents and grandparents of those students.
In case you can’t read it, the cemetery has been in existence since 1874.
It’s an attractive cemetery whose centerpiece is a massive oak tree.
Some of the graves are really ancient.
George W Moore Co C, 28 Miss Cav, CSA
I arrived there about the time a guy started mowing the grass. After a while, he shut the mower off and wandered over and introduced himself as Ron Neal. The Neal family is fairly prominent in the cemetery. I suspect he thought I was drunk as I staggered through the graves. I still don’t walk very well, particularly on grass or undulating ground.
He says he was chosen by default to cut the grass today since the usual person was not available. He’s on the board that controls the cemetery. We talked about the difficulty of upkeep of small cemeteries throughout the U.S. There’s problems with space, materials left out in the path of the mower, money, sinking headstones, and volunteers.
We saw the same with Searcy Cemetery. For years, until he no longer could, my brother would travel over from Brandon and cut the grass. My Dad set up a fund to pay for the mowings but my brother never charged him. My Dad, of course, was the biggest financial donor to the cemetery. My cousin Charles would often cut it, also.
After visiting the relatives at Sim’s Hill, I headed to Minnie Jean and Charles’. It was so good to see them again after all the medical issues Charles has had this past year. Not long after, my cousin Regina from Uncle Ray and Aunt Minrose came in. I hadn’t seen her since she was a toddler. One caveat, she says she saw me at my Mom and Dad’s one year when she was still fairly young. I didn’t remember that.
We caught up with family: the Savell’s, the Risher’s, the Cooper’s, the Searcy’s, and the Hurst’s. In reliving memories, we each learned something new about each family which is kind of neat. When we should have been listening to our grandparents drone on about relatives, we didn’t pay enough attention and we’ve had to piece the information together ourselves. There’s a good warning to the younger generation – listen to your grandparents droning.
I was at Archie and Tanis’ around 10:15 this morning and Ashely and Billy were already active. It was quickly explained to me that a trip to Meridian to eat at Weidman’s was not as important as me going to Walmart and Home Depot to pick up a crock pot, have some keys made, and a blood pressure cuff. Yes, ma’am.
I’ll be there around 10:45 tomorrow. Billy leaves tomorrow, and we will try to tie up loose ends. I owe such a large debt of gratitude to my niece, Ashley, and my nephews Billy and David for their help. I wasn’t much help other than tripping over my feet. What these three have accomplished in 5 days is amazing. David came to help after work, Billy scheduled around his time and Ashley both worked and took time off. It’s really nice when family comes together.
