Monday, October 23, 2017

Back home and settling in…

Monday was a pretty good day but it got really hot. Karen came in and we did some personal care and of course a nice relaxing long hot bath. The Woofpack came and got Robby for his Monday hike so it was just Dude and I cruising around. We cruised downtown to drop off a package at FedEx and then cruise down to the wharf where we ran into Russell and Sparky, Russell is such a sweet man and Sparky is such an adorable dog. Just talking to him makes my day! I cruised down to the end of the wharf but was thinking that maybe I should turn around because it was getting pretty hot, I have no way to test the ground to see if it's too hot for Dudes feet so we did a little shade hopping and we made it home… I kept watching him but I didn't see him dancing so I figured you must be okay. We hung out for a while, I meant to practice a couple of his commands but I forgot. I did talk to the lady and scheduled a tech to come out and fix my bed, he's bringing out a new compressor. Rosa came in and fed everybody and put me to bed and then my uncle, my aunt, Claudia, my mom and I played cribbage… I was falling asleep towards the end of the games. I got out of the house this morning and then noticed that my Google glass had shut off so no pictures today.

Tuesday was a pretty good day. Cindy came in and fed the dogs and cat and then got me up, I was fasting so I could do some blood work before my mammogram appointment. I wanted coffee so bad and I also wanted breakfast but mostly coffee. I took Robby out for a cruise through the lagoon, down to the wharf and then back home just in time to leave for my appointment. My aunt came over and told me that my cousin got evacuated from his house because of that bear fire up around his house, my grandpa built that house and family has always lived in it and I really hope nothing happens to it. The mammogram always takes so much maneuvering, twisting and leaning and I am always so glad when it's over. We went back downstairs and it didn't take them very long to get me in to do the blood work, now I can eat. We came back and I had some tomato soup with popcorn leftover from last night, my uncle makes the most delicious popcorn! I took Dude for cruise Downtown to the Goodwill store… My aunt and uncle go there all the time and they told me there were three rooms of Halloween costumes and decorations so I had to go see and I was blown away. A business must have gone out of business because there really was attend of stuff. I found a salt shaker costume for Robby, and pepper shaker costume for Dude and a muster bottle costume for me… I wasn't going to dress up this year but now I might. I also found a bunch of Halloween hats for the party at the end of the month, we decided to have a Halloween hat, scary appetizers, and desserts, pumpkin carving contest barbecue. I realize I was alone in my chair and ended up with a big bag and two hats, there was no way I was going to be able to get back home. I texted my aunt and she went to get it for me. It was getting too hot. Rosa came in and put me to bed and before I went to sleep I remember thinking "I hope this is my last night on this mattress" I'm glad I have it but not too glad I had to use it.

















Wednesday was a pretty good day. Susan came in and gave me a nice long massage, my neck and shoulders were hurting from the hard plastic mattress so it felt great. Karen came in and we did some personal care and I got to take a nice long hot bath, the last three days I am really cold all the time so it felt great. The tech called and wanted to come out and fix my bad, perfect timing. I took Robby and went to cruise through the lagoon but they had a big truck blocking the path so we turned around and went back home, I guess part of me wanted to make sure my mattress was fixed… Now I can't wait to go back to bed LOL. The tech was gone and the bed looks like it was working so I was happy. I dropped Robby off and got dude and we went out for a cruise, I keep saying the Monarch butterflies fly around wherever I go and I want to go down to natural bridges Park and see if they are down in the eucalyptus trees. I don't know why but I'm a little afraid of going that far anymore, I used to do it all the time and I don't know what the fear is. I also went by these new trails, right down the street from where the support group is at Dominican Hospital, and I thought the same thing "I need to get down here and cruised through there" I rushed right to the support group and rush right home, I don't know why I do that either… I thought I was getting better about getting out and doing things and being around people, some days it's really easy and some days it's a real challenge. I'm so glad I have the boys I think I could just stay home, watch TV and hang around in the driveway all day. That's a really scary thought to me. We cruised through Depot Park and said hello to Rafael, he takes care of the grounds there and always has such a sweet smile and says hello… Kinda makes my day sometimes. We cruised down to the end of the wharf and just hung out for a while and took pictures, probably the same pictures I took yesterday and the day before but everything just looks so beautiful I can't help but take pictures. We cruised back home and I hung out in the yard for a while with the boys, dude seems to have a lot of energy so I thought I would let him run around for a while. Rosa came in and fed that gang and then put me to bed, she got me some rotisserie chicken, asparagus, mushrooms and a salad… And a payday for dessert. I watched TV for a while and then drifted off.




























Thursday was a pretty good day. Karen came in and fed the gang and then got me dressed and up in my chair. The Woofpack came to get Robby so it was just Dude and I cruising around. We cruised through the lagoon and up to the playground/tennis courts where I saw the guy that takes care of the grounds at Depot Park, I believe his name is Rafael… He sure is handsome! We cruised through Bay St., Park and headed down Westcliff Drive. I remember when I first got Robby I did this cruise almost every day so I thought I would cruise down to see if the Monarch butterflies are at the natural Bridges Park, I'm seeing them everywhere else so I hope so. While I was cruising there I remembered that I had an appointment at 1:30 PM, it was 11:00 AM… My psychology appointment went to every other week until the end of the year so I completely forgot about my facial appointment with Jennifer. I turned back around and decided to go home and rest for a bit and get some water for Dude but when I got down to the intersection of Laurel and Chestnut there was a huge accident, fire trucks, ambulance and police everywhere. I tried to go around and I saw how badly the cars were and there was a guy laying on the ground with EMTs all around, I hope he's going to be okay. There's a train that comes through there sometimes and people always do stupid things like trying to dart ahead of it, what is wrong with some people? I was about a block away from my house when I realized that it took so much time to get around the accident that now I need to turn around and go back the other way to get to my appointment. I made it to my appointment with about five minutes to spare so I sat outside and enjoy the sun. After my appointment, I always feel so clean and fresh! I cruised back down to the wharf to take some more pictures until I got a text from Rosa saying she was on her way to my house. She fed the gang and put me to bed and I ate some of the greens with ribs that we did in the crockpot the night before, they were so good! I watched TV and listen to music for a while before I nodded off.























































Friday was a really good day. Karen came in and fed the two boys and the girl and then got me something to eat. We did some personal care and a nice long hot bath before my mom drove Karen and I to my PT appointment with Nathan at Dominican rehab. Nathan is so nice and really knowledgeable, he knows his stuff! Last week he gave me some exercises and although I don't feel any better I know I will, I just have to keep doing the exercises. I'm also hoping between the exercises and my FES cycle I can get into really good shape, I practice the exercises when I'm tilting back during the day and that helps a lot… It's always so boring tilting back for 15 minutes every hour so the exercises make it go by faster. I took Dude to my PT appointment with me because Robby no longer has public access, of course, everybody there fell in love and had to come over and say hello… He is so adorable! Nathan gave me some new exercises and he put me on their handcycle for a while, it really felt good to exercise. We came back home and I got Robby and we went for a cruise through the lagoon, through Bay St., Park, down Westcliff Drive, down to the wharf and then back home to drop off Robby and get Dude. We cruised over to the wharf and I spent most of the rest of the day there taking some pictures. On the way back home while I was crossing the street I saw this guy with this really cool looking homemade bicycle, that looks like a tricycle but it had an engine and he made a flag out of metal or something. We came back home and Theresa was here doing the laundry, she fed the animals and then put me to bed. Last time I went shopping I got some Posole so I finally got to try it and it was really good, I've had Menudo and I really liked that but this is good also. I watch TV for a while just hoping for some sleep, I'm really tired but I just can't sleep.

































Saturday was a great day. Cindy came in and fed the group and then got me up for the day. Robby went with his friends for the puppy playdate so it was just Dude and I. We found Robbie's costume from last year and tried it on Dude, it was a cowboy that sits on their back and when they run it looks like he's riding them… It's hilarious! Omar and Cindy drove over to storage to see if there were any more Halloween decorations, we are having a barbecue/pumpkin carving contest/Halloween hat wearing and scary appetizers party. Dude and I took off for the wharf and there were all kinds of really cool homemade contraptions driving around out there! We cruised over to the boardwalk just in time to see the marching band come around the corner, they had to stop traffic and then here comes the ambulance, fire truck, and police officers because somebody on the boardwalk got hurt. We cruised back over to the wharf and watched an Otter dive down and get some muscles or crabs and come back up to the surface, roll over on his back and eat them… You can hear the crunching. Every once in a while he would grab onto it and roll in the water, I don't know if he was getting it wet because it was drying out or if he was just cleaning it off but it was adorable! There were birds landing all around him to get the leftovers. It was a really really beautiful day and everybody was so happy! We cruised back home and Theresa fed the gang and then put me to bed. Omar went fishing on Friday evening and brought me some fresh salmon, it was awesome!! My uncle and aunt came over from across the street and my mom and I played cribbage with them. I listen to music until I drifted off to sleep. A perfect day!




























Sunday was another great day! Cindy came in and fed everybody and then got me up for the day. I took Robby for a nice long cruise through the lagoon and down to the end of the wharf where we watched a band perform Hawaiian music, it was so cool tilting back and listening to the music! I saw them down there the weekend before and it was so nice to see them down there again. Cindy was going to meet us on the wharf to take pictures with Robby and Dude in the giant picture frame on the stage on the wharf, I've been looking at it all week wanting to get pictures. We took the pictures and we were trying to get them to both look at us at the same time, Robby always looks away because he doesn't like his picture taken. Pretty soon I noticed there were about 10 people behind us trying to get their attention for the pictures we were taking, it was so sweet! Everybody was making a comment on how nice and well-behaved dogs were. Cindy said that before she left home dude pooped so I didn't have to worry about it, we got to the end of the wharf and of course Dude. To make it worse there were three custodians emptying garbage and they saw, I was so embarrassed. I knew two of them, I see them out there all the time so I finally introduce myself and they are super sweet. Al walked by and said, "do you want me to get that for you?" I thanked him but I had already texted Cindy to come back so he walked down and was talking to the other two for a minute and then they came back and cleaned it up for me… All three of them. They were so sweet as usual and I just didn't know what to say because I was so humiliated. I thanked them and then we cruised over to the boardwalk before we decided to come back home.  on the way back we saw them sitting up for the salsa dancing, they do it every Sunday and I keep telling myself I'm going to watch but I always forget and have to come home. I ran into a lady that I read into every once in a while cruising around, her name is Catherine and she seems to be really sweet. We sat and watched one lady dance for a while and then she came over to talk to us, she has been doing this for years and she loves it and you can tell. When going out in the driveway for a while until Theresa got here and then she fed everybody and put me to bed. I made a big batch of greens with short ribs so I had them for dinner, I can eat those every night… I love them so much! I was gonna watch a movie but I fell asleep.