Sunday, February 23, 2014

We got a couple of good days of rain…

 Monday was another really nice day, not too hot and not too cold. I of course took Robby a long cruise and then I came home and recharge my battery and took Robby to the vet. His ears have been really read and really dirty and of course he has an ear infection, luckily we caught it early so won't bother him too much. I got to talk to Dr. Dave, I can never remember his last name but he's always so much fun to talk to. I ran into him a lot while out and about, he's a very busy guy. I came home and rested for a bad and Rosa came in and put me to bed. Heather made some killer ribs, while some greens and amazing asparagus… I felt like I was in heaven.

Tuesday was a really nice day. I got up and took Robby will really nice long cruise, our usual cruise around Santa Cruz. I took my Google gloss out and although pretty much took a lot of the same pictures I already have it's great to have them on, I need to find some new places to take pictures. It was getting a little cold so I decided to come home and kick back and watch TV for a little while. Rosa came in and put me to bed and I fell right asleep, I woke up as she was leaving and of course now I'm wide awake.















Wednesday was such a great and productive day. After I got up Kelly took Karen and I to Costco for a much-needed trip, I was getting low on everything. I love taking Karen because she just zips through, grabs stuff and piles it in the cart just like that game Tetris… Everything fits perfectly. I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon and back and then I went with Tom and Kelly to the farmers market. We were all starving so the first thing we did was eat, Kelly and I split a garbanzo bean naan wrap and we got a chili rellenos burrito but can only eat about a third of it… It was awesome. I got some stuff for salads and we came on home. I rested for a while and then Rosa came to put me to bed and feed me, I usually only eat twice a day but would you believe I forgot that I ate at the farmers market so I ate again. I sometimes wonder whether I really feel empty/full or if it's just time to eat and I eat. My uncle and aunt, Kelly and my mom came down to play cribbage. Since there was five people there were no partners, it's every person for themselves. I lost two dollars.

Thursday was another great day, I really love this weather but I know it will be more needs to be over soon. I got up and took Robby on our regular, low battery, cruise around Santa Cruz. I came back and rested for a bit and Teresa came by and also a new girl that we hired xiaona. We interviewed her last Friday and we both liked her immediately so we decided to give her a try. She did really good last night, we usually have the girls watch the first night and then if she needs help we're right there… She just jumped in and wanted to do everything. Although that will be nice to have two new people it still really hard to have new people for caregivers, I don't know if I can ever explain why. I just wish we could jump ahead a couple of months when I'm really going to be comfortable with them. It's especially hard when there's two at one time because I can't help my mind from going to wishing somebody familiar was coming in. I should be glad because both of the new ladies are extremely awesome and pick everything up really fast. I guess it just takes a while to get used to somebody new looking at your stuff is.

Friday was a really good day. I was supposed to meet Teresa and Alex for lunch and a movie but the guy that was coming to bring the new batteries for my chair came right before I was supposed to leave, of course I cannot be in the chair when he changes the batteries so I had to text them and tell them I was going to be late. Luckily I was only 12 minutes late and they were just having a drink at the bar. We have a really nice lunch at a place called Pono Hawaii and grill. I had been there once with Heather and really enjoyed it and I really enjoyed it this time also so we're definitely going back. We wanted to see in secret with Jessica Lange but they change the times so we ended up seeing 12 years a slave, it was a really good movie but it made me really angry at some parts and really sad at some parts… By the end I was crying. I came back out of the theater and my battery was almost dead, I'm so frustrated that it always happens at 4 PM on Friday meeting. I called Elvis, he's the tech that brought out the batteries and change them, and left him a message. I also called the company grew from me on hold for half an hour and they didn't answer the phone when I finally hung up and called back. The lady finally called back and said that there was a possibility that if we charge the batteries overnight they will be fully charged and work as they should, I really hope so because it's not really worth getting up if I can only go 2 miles before my batteries in my chair die. I would like to be able to go to the clam chowder bake-off tomorrow at the Boardwalk. This was her second day of training the new girl, she is doing really well and she's just so cute. She basically put me to bed by herself today and took really good care of Robby.

Saturday was another gorgeous day, just keep them coming. I got up and cruise Robby through the lagoon, down Westcliff and back, to the end of the wharf and back and down to the boardwalk for the clam chowder cookoff. I usually don't go to these things, although I would love to, because they are so crowded I can't even get through and I'm afraid somebody is going to stumble or fall on Robby. I went there early to cruise around and get pictures before the crowds came, I got some really good pictures and met some really funny people. By the time I got down to the end of the boardwalk and started back it was a 12:45, the taste testing started at one, so I pretty much had to be escorted through the crowd to the nearest entrance/exit. This very nice lady took it upon herself to be my escort, she was so sweet and everybody just moved aside for her. I ran into Heather, I was hoping I would. I cruised home and of course my battery was dead, I'm getting really tired of this. Luckily the guy will be here on Monday so I can just keep my cruising down to a couple of hours I will be okay. Rosa came and put me to bed, we did some personal care and I got a nice long hot bath. Her daughter brought us some food that Rosen made earlier and it was awesome, chicken, pinto beans and Spanish rice and she made me a salad. Such an awesome day.













Sunday was a pretty good day although I stayed in bed. My NEW batteries for my chair that they put in on Friday were almost dead after 6 miles, they should go away longer than that. Of course it's Friday at 4:00 PM so I'm stuck until Monday. I called and they put me on hold for half an hour and minute for 30 I decided to hang up and call back and they answer the phone so I left them kind of a nasty message and they called back. They said the technician will be over here on Monday to figure out what's wrong with the chair, I see no chair in my future for a couple of days. I came back and hung out in the sun with Robby for a couple of hours and then Rosa came to put me to bed, do some personal care and a nice long hot bath. Roses daughter came and brought us dinner and it was awesome, chicken, pinto beans and Spanish rice… All my favorites. My uncle came over to see if we wanted to play cribbage, of course we do. We ended up with five people to play cribbage so there were no partners, I lost three dollars and I got skunked once. The popcorn is always good.

Monday, February 17, 2014

The rain is here, finally…

 Monday was a beautiful day outside, unfortunately I had to stay inside again… This is really really getting old. I got all of my personal care done so that's good. There wasn't time for a nice long hot bath and I will get back in the morning before I get up. I watched a couple of episodes of 90 day fiancĂ© and a couple rounds of wicked women.Heather came over today and cooked a bunch of stuff, it smelled wonderful. My aunt came over and told me that my cousin is doing really good, that is really awesome news. He staying at a care facility so is really motivated to get up and get around so he can go home. My uncle brought me over some pork roast, mashed potatoes and gravy and an artichoke. It was great.

Tuesday was an awesome day. I got a nice long hot bath and got up and the sun was out, I haven't seen my old friend the sun for a long time. I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon, to the end of the wharf and back, to the end of the boardwalk and back and home… It felt wonderful. I found a spot on the boardwalk overlooking the ocean and the wharf and just laid back and enjoy the sun and the beautiful view. There was only a few scattered people, that's how I like it. As I was leaving the boardwalk towards home I noticed that I only had to read bars left on my chair battery, unbelievable. Jack was supposed to find out about the batteries and bring them here, he said they have them in stock in the shop but maybe he forgot. I will call them tomorrow. I came home and talked to Omar for a while, he's leaving on Sunday to go to Mexico for three months… What am I going to do without him? I am excited for him because he is so excited, it will go by fast. Rosa came in and we did some personal care and I got to just relax for a little while.

Wednesday was another great day, not as warm as yesterday but it was nice. I cruised Robby through the lagoon and then went to meet Cassie for sushi, and seen her for a long time so was nice to catch up. She left me a message on Facebook and said that she moved in to an apartment complex the next street over, where neighbors again. I cruised Robby down to the end of the wharf and back and while I was headed there I ran into Seth on his bicycle so he cruised down there with us. My battery was getting low and it was getting close to 4 PM so I decided to cruise home to get there before Rosa. Rosa put me to bed, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open but is Wednesday so our day to play cards. I fought sleep all the way through and of course now that everybody left and wide-awake, what is up with that?? Tom and Kelly came back and Kelly played cribbage with us, Lee was sick.

Thursday was a pretty good day. I got to take Robby for a short cruise through the lagoon, down to the end of the boardwalk and back. I had Teresa pick me up in the parking lot by the wharf because we were going to Watsonville to get my bone density scan. Of course since we were going to Watsonville we had to go to the wooden nickel, they have French onion soup on Thursdays. We each got a bowl of French onion soup and split an order of onion rings, it was so good. When we got to Watsonville Hospital they said they didn't have my order, the lady I talked to at Dominican told me she was going to send it over there. They eventually found it and it turned out to be really simple, they just transferred me to a gurney and then slid me over to the scan table. I'm glad I got that done. We came home and had an interview with the potential caregiver, she seemed like she knew what she was doing so we will see what happens. Teresa put me to bed and we did some personal care and I got to take a nice long hot bath. Before the scan I took two lorazepam pills, last time they told me that if I moved they would not be able to do the test again and I would have to come back so I wanted to make sure I was really relaxed… I was. I don't remember a lot of the personal care and I was awake during the bath but fell right asleep when she put me back to bed and slept all night long until Karen got here at 7 AM, I never do that and it felt great.

Friday was a pretty good day, a little cold but it was nice. I got up and took Robby for cruise through the lagoon and down to the end of the wharf and back, I didn't want to waste my battery because I had plans later in the afternoon. I met Teresa and Alex at the Nickelodeon theater and saw Gloria, it was a really good movie. Alex brought Teresa and I this adorable glass Swan with a rose in it, she is always so thoughtful. I came back and we had another interview that also went great, it's going to be hard to choose. Teresa put me to bed and give me something to eat, chicken, carrots and kale.

Saturday was a good day. After only a couple of days Lisa got me out and she did a great job. I cruised Robby through the lagoon, halfway to the lighthouse and back and down to the end of the wharf and back expecting my battery to be really low but it wasn't. I got some Ugg ear warmers at Costco and they worked great, if I can keep my ears and my neck warm I do okay out of the cold. I came back in my evening caregiver called and said that she wouldn't be here until 6 PM, her uncle was in the hospital. I felt really bad for making her come in but I just had her throw me in bed, feed me and Robby and go.

Sunday was such a beautiful day, it got to 74° here. I wasn't going to get up because my stomach was hurting again, right in the center and the top part… I'm glad I did. My niece message the night before and asked if she could come and spend the day here with a friend so I wanted to be up and around. I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon, to the end of the wharf and back into the end of the boardwalk and back… Santa Cruz was really crowded yesterday. I ran into Josh and his family, he was the one that has been doing most of the work and my house. Everybody was enjoying such a beautiful day. I noticed that my battery was low again so I headed home, I must remember to call them tomorrow. Teresa came and we did some personal care and I got my usual nice long hot bath, it felt so great that I needed it so much.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Now the weather starting to get cold, it looks like were going to get our much-needed rain…

 Monday was another marathon personal care day so needless to say I ended up staying in bed again. I really need to start eating better again so I promised myself I would stay away from coffee, dairy and beans. I like the mixed beans for my salad and I also like to put feta cheese but am going to stop doing that for a while and see if it makes a difference. They canceled Susan, my massage therapist, so I really need a massage.

Tuesday was a pretty good day, we did end up doing more personal care but at least I got to get up and get out for a while. I cruised Robby through the lagoon, down West Cliff to the surf Museum, to the end of the boardwalk and back at home and of course my battery was dead again. It was cold so I was looking forward to getting back and turning the heater up on my home automation system is not working. I called my brother and he tried to do what he could to but we unplug the router which change the IP address on everything to an older router so now he has to redirect everything so I guess I will be without my home automation system for a couple of days, when do I miss it when it's not working. Rosa came and put me to bed and I have some pork loin roast, mushrooms, guacamole and chips and a salad with no beans or cheese. I listen to music the rest of the night and eventually fell asleep.

Wednesday was another day of staying in bed and doing personal care for most of the day. I wanted to get up and go to the farmers market but I guess it's not going to happen.

Thursday was the same as it has been, personal care all day. I have an appointment with my doctor in a week or so and hopefully we can figure something out because this is ridiculous. By the end of the afternoon I'm just exhausted and then it seems to be more of it the next day. It was raining and cold all day outside so staying inside and warm is a good idea. There is a couple of really good movies on pay-per-view so I'm trying to catch up on them. I started watching Bad Grandpa the other day but Lexi and Seth came in and they had already seen it so instead we watched Cloudy with a chance of meatballs two. Right now I'm watching Dallas Buyers Club, great movie, and after this I'll watch Bad Grandpa before it expires. I had to turn it up so I could hear it over Robby's loud snoring, I hope he's having a good dream.

Friday was a great day. It wasn't too cold but it was raining but still a great day when you're up and out and about. I was going to go downtown to pick out my new glasses, I got a prescription to see the eye doctor a month or two ago that I just need to go do it. Unfortunately it was raining so Robby and I made it through the lagoon, to depot Park and back, we're going to do it again but the rain did not let up so we just hung out and watched TV. Teresa came in to give me a nice long hot bath and put me to bed. I hope it's nice tomorrow.

Saturday wasn't really nice at all. We really need the rain and I love to see it, I wish I could keep my door open at night and just listen to it but there's too many little creatures out there that would probably wander into my house. I got up and tried to take Robby for a cruise couple of times but the rain just would not let up, I did take them down to the lagoon a couple times. My evening caregiver called in sick right before her shift was to start so I called Teresa and she came back over, she had just left a couple of hours earlier to go home. She came over and did some filing in case Lisa needed some help, Lisa is doing great. My uncle and aunt, Lee and Claudia and my mom and I played cribbage and I lost three dollars. The little girls came over with my aunt and they hung out with us and watched Cloudy with a chance of meatballs two.

Sunday was another frustrating day, another day stuck in bed. Lisa came in and found Robby and I and we did get some stuff done that needed to be done. Rosa came in but she still had a headache so she ended up going home, it's a good thing I stayed in bed that means no personal care or bath. It's so frustrating because we were looking for one good person and finally got resumes for three but I still end up staying in bed. It should have been a relaxing day but it really wasn't. Hopefully next week will be a good week.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

I give up on trying to figure out this weather…

 Monday was a great day.I got up just in time for my appointment with Jack, he came to check to see why my batteries are running down so fast. He said everything looked great but it's been doing it for several days so he's just got to go ahead and order me some new batteries, I hope it doesn't take as long as it took for my seat cover. I took Robby for cruise through the lagoon and down to the lighthouse Museum and back, I wish I could stay longer and gone further because the weather was gorgeous. I came back and Teresa took me to my appointment at Dominican rehab to meet with Andrei to fix the laterals on my chair, I think we really got it this time. We ran into Roger and he had already moved into his new office and loves it, it's right on the corner by the lobby so he can see everything… He looks really happy. I came home just in time for Rosa to put me to bed, she switched Sunday's for Tuesday's so Teresa could rest and study before she goes to school on Wednesdays. There's this place in Los Gatos called the cancer store, my uncle goes there almost every day, he came in today to show me his banana yellow sweatsuit…it looked good on him and it fit him well. I watched about five episodes of Dr. Phil and hopefully now I will be able to go to sleep.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. I got up a little bit late and wanted to take Robby for cruise but Jack was coming over from Numobility, used to be ATG rehab, to check my batteries. You tested him and said there was nothing wrong but they shouldn't be dying after 6 miles so he's going to order me some new ones. I got to take Robby on a little cruise through the lagoon, down West Cliff to the lighthouse Museum and back before my appointment with Andrei at Dominican rehab. I manage a larger on the way and he looked so happy, he finally got out of his little hole in the wall office and into a really nice  office where he can actually see people. We talked to him for a couple of minutes and then went to find Andrei. He fixed my lateral and it felt pretty good, I hope this is it. Teresa brought me home just in time for Rosa to put me to bed. I had a headache from the glue that Andrei used on my lateral side took a couple of Tylenol PMs and went to sleep for a little bit, that helped.

Wednesday was kind of a disappointing day. I wanted to get up and cruise Robby around and go to the farmers market and meet Rosa seconded some solid stuff. For some reason I was really bloated Sony decided to some personal care instead, needless to say I ended up staying in bed.  Cribbage was called off for tonight because my cousin Rich fell at work and broke his ankle, he was in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. I feel so bad,  he is such a good guy and how such bad luck. I hope it is just really badly sprained and not broken but we didn't sign like that was the case. I have a couple of movies that I don't pay per view so I guess I'll just relax and watch those.

 Thursday was a pretty good day. It started out sunny but windy and it was really nice as we cruised through the lagoon but got a lot more windy the father down Westcliff Drive that we went so we discerned around at the lighthouse Museum. We cruised into the end of the wharf and then back home. My cousin Rich should have never went home. They stuck them in his easy chair and then during the night he decided to go to his bed, when you don't feel well you want to be home and in your own bed. He woke up the next morning and just could not move and nobody could touch him, no matter how many pain pills he took she was in excruciating pain. My  Uncle and aunt came and got my lift  and borrowed one of my slings and my portable wheelchair potty and went up the shield to see if they could get him comfortable, they couldn't even touch him without inflicting a lot of pain. They finally decided to just call an ambulance and have them come and get him and take him back to the hospital where he should have been.  They did a CT scan and found that he had cracked his As well as his head and that's why he was in so much pain. Thank goodness they left him there for a couple of days so they can watch him, thank goodness he didn't break anything. I rested for a while because my battery was dead and I didn't have any choice and then Teresa came and put me to bed. We did some personal care I got to take a nice long hot bath.

 Friday we were going to have a really productive day but it didn't quite turn out that way. I didn't eat or drink anything in the morning so we got my blood work done, that's good. We called to set up a bone density and Dominican Hospital told us that we needed to go to Watsonville Hospital because they have a left and they are set up to get me out of the chair and on the table. I hadn't been to the Woodenn Nickel for a long time so I was excited to go since it was an Watsonville. Teresa and I split the calamari burger and had french fries and onion rings, needless to say we brought most of the onion rings and french fries phone but the lady told us a great way to warm them up. We went on over to Watsonville Hospital and of course they didn't have my order for my bone density. After calling several places, including Dr. Owen's office where they told us she was with the patient, we just figured that the order was at Dominican and we would have to straighten it out and come back, usually the story of our life. It's okay because the lady at the wooden nickel told us that on Thursdays they have killer ball of onion soup so religious come back on Thursday. On the way home we stopped by the Chinese restaurant that had shut down for a while so we wanted to try it and see if it was as good as it used to be, it was. We got the house chow mein and potstickers, we were both craving potstickers.
Definitely be going back. After we ate at the wooden nickel we went decided that I might be a good idea for me to take two of my lorazepam's because you only get one chance at the bone density test and if I were to have a spasm I would have to come back again and try it. So unfortunately I was pretty worthless the rest of the day and I barely remember Teresa putting me to bed and feeding me chow mein and potstickers, luckily there was some left over so I can try it again today. I did get a really good nights sleep and I didn't wake up until 4 AM.

Saturday was a pretty good day. I got up and the weather was kind of nice. I took Robby for a cruise through the lagoon, tried to drink some tea and it would come out so I came back home and got my teeth fixed, cruised back through the lagoon again, upon Bay Street, down Westcliff Drive and back down to the bridge that overlooks the wharf, saw how crowded it was and came back home. I sat around and watched TV for a while and then Rosa came and put me to bed. I watched the rest of the American horror story: Coven and tried to go to sleep but I couldn't because my stomach was so bloated, it was so miserable.

Sunday was a really long and good and bad day. I wanted to get up so we can happily some practice one last time before she's on her own but that didn't happen. Last night my stomach are really bloated so I finally called my mom to come down and give me some episodes are at 3 AM. By the time Lisa got here at 7 AM I was still miserable and didn't even want to move. Lisa gave Robby a bath, made me some tea and cleaned out the pantry while we waited for Teresa. We got a lot of cupboards and drawers straightened out in my room, it's really looking nice and I hope it stays that way. After Lisa left we tried to do some personal care because I was a mess, every time I lay down my blood pressure got really high and I had to sit back up again. It was just miserable. We finally made a little bit of progress and just decided to wait and see what was going to happen. I'm feeling much better and watching 2020.