Record-breaking heat and thunderstorms…

 Monday was a nice relaxing day. It's supposed to be 95°, and by chairs, not working equals me staying in bed. She fed Dude and then fed me and put me on my side for a while; I don't get to stay on my side usually, so when I'm on it, I can't help but fall asleep. I was in such a deep sleep that she decided to just let me sleep and go do other things… I felt really great when I woke up! My brother came down and took Dude out for a scrape, that's what he calls it. I watched TV, listen to the radio, and now I found a new way I like to play cribbage, so I've already played with Elaine and Adriana, and I love it! I get lost and forget the time. Joy came by to work with Dude in his tennis shoes, he does really good, but it's been a while, so I want to make sure he's really used to them before I take him out. Rosa came in and fed Dude and then fed me; she was running around disinfecting everything… One of the things I love about her! My brother made a pot roast with onions, potatoes, and carrots, and it was amazing! He also made garlic bread, which is my favorite! I ate way too much. My aunt and uncle came over, and after we ate, we played a couple games of cribbage; it's really nice to get back to somewhat everyday life. After they left, it didn't really take me very long to fall asleep.

Tuesday ended up being a perfect day, surprising because I stayed in bed, but the joint was jumping. Cindy came in and fed Dude and then fed me; she cleaned everything out, and then she had an appointment in Watsonville to ride a horse. Cindy always talks about horses and how she would love to ride one, so I asked my masseuse because she knows everyone, and sure enough, she knew a really nice lady on the ranch, so Cindy… She looked excited and didn't look nervous. I think I would be so nervous! I was excited for her! I wanted to go, but I was pretty sure I would get overheated, and then she would have to leave, and that would be a real bummer. I was really getting angry about my chair, and having wait so long, I'm just getting more frustrated and cranky by the moment. I decided to write something, by venting, on Facebook, and boy did I get fantastic support. One of my therapists private messaged me and told me that she would take care of it; she has always been so sweet and helpful… I think she's has helped me out a couple times, at least! She said she was already on the phone to Jack and Daniel, the best technical support guys I have ever met… After she got talking to everybody, she told me that they will be here in the morning; how cool is that?? I also have a lot of excellent friends to reach out, and that really meant a lot; I think I was crying in the end… Just knowing that so many people care. One of the messages on my post was my primary care Dr., and she asked, "do you need a prescription? I can do that." Now the receptionist down at Numotion told me on the phone that she was waiting for my doctor to get back to her with the prescription… Are you kidding me?? I also got a message from my good friend Roger; he has come to my rescue more than I can count. He told me that I call him also if I have a problem, any problem.

I feel so amazing and overwhelmed reading these posts from all of these beautiful people, I was feeling really down, and now I'm so excited after reading what everyone wrote I can even go to sleep. Still, I don't care because I can't stop reading all these beautiful responses. Melissa, the horse trainer that Cindy went to visit, sent me a bunch of videos of her teaching Cindy how to ride, she did such a good job, and she didn't look nervous at all. Rosa came in and fed Dude, and Cindy came with her and told me all about her ridding lesson; she was still excited! I really really wish I could've gone, but I can't wait to see the videos. I think that pretty much all night, it's so lovely to be in such a great. Just laying here watching 90-day fiancé and enjoying the quiet. Good night!

Wednesday was a pretty good day. Susan came in and gave me a nice long massage; I felt so great after. Karen came in and fed Dude, and then she fed me. The groomer came by to groom Dude. We did some personal care and a nice long hot bath, and she put me back to bed just in time for our meeting with the salesman from a walk-in tub/shower place. I was thrilled my brother Stanley was still here so he could show him around upstairs and help me figure out how to move forward. Everything on the videos that I saw looked incredible if that's what it really does. By the time the guy left, we had bought a walk-in tub/shower for my mom, and if she likes it after a month, Stanley and I are both going to get one; if they worked like it is supposed to, they are pretty amazing! The guy gave a really nice presentation, and of course, it looks fantastic and will cure all of our ailments, I would be so awesome if it was true! They are going to install it on August 1, 2020. The ashes are everywhere in the air quality is terrible, so I got I ended up staying in bed. I can't stop loading pictures of the devastation the fires have left behind and are still in process. My cousin got evacuated again, and he staying across the street with his parents. Rosa came in and fed Dude and then fed me; she's scrambled around a little bit and claimed and then went home… During the day at her other job, she's dealing with a lot of frightened older people that don't know what can happen, and that has to take a toll on you. I watch TV, listen to music, and downloaded pictures for the rest of the night until I fell asleep.

Thursday was another relaxing day. Karen came in, and I was going to start getting back into the routine of writing my exercise cycle, eating breakfast outside, and then going back to bed, but I have another pressure sore on my butt, probably from staying in bed… I'm afraid to get up these days because of my chair.  Stanley came in to say goodbye; he was flying back to Oregon. We didn't get to talk a lot, but it's always so lovely to have him around. Karen fed Dude and then fed me; she called me partially dressed in case the boys give me the okay to get up… Jack and Daniel are coming this morning to look at my chair. I feel a little bit awkward because I didn't realize my post would get so much feedback, but it's really nice to know that I'm not the only one faced with these frustrations, and I'm glad I did because of the result. We left my chair outside, and they took a look at it and then they came in and told me they would order the parts and it would be okay to cruise around in my chair as long as I don't go too far AND make sure I have somebody that can come and get me in case I get stuck. I decided to just stay in bed and watch TV until Rosa comes in. She fed Dude and then fed me, she cleaned up a little bit and then went home. I downloaded some more pictures and watch TV until I fell asleep.

Friday was a really long day. Karen came in and fed Dude; she's been doing really good going all the way through the night without having to pee… He used to drink so much water that even though we put him in his kennel at 6 PM, so he won't drink anymore, we still have to let him out at 11 PM or midnight to pee again. It would be nice if we could just let him go all through the night, but if you can't do it, he needs to go out and go potty. He just amazes me every day; when I think you can't do anything to make me think he's smarter, he does it. He is so unique, not like ANY other dog I've had before. I really got to bond with Dude, Robby I didn't get to as much… He bonded more with my caregivers and family.  The second day I came back from team training in 2009, I had to turn around and take Robby back to CCI in Santa Rosa because I had to go in for flap surgery for a nasty pressure sore I had; I was going to be in the hospital for six weeks and then another six weeks to transition to get back into my chair… I was able to bring them home when I got out of the hospital, but my caregivers ended up feeding him and walking him, and therefore, he got more attached to them than he did to me. I just realized why I just went on about Robby. Robby's sister passed away this afternoon; Christy just texted me and told me. We had a little family reunion with her and the other sister a couple of years ago; we always said we were going to do it again, but we never did…

Time goes by too fast. Dude and I have spent so much time together that we have a perfect bond, and he is such a super-smart dog. We did some personal care, and I got a nice long hot relaxing bath; when we do personal care, it is so uncomfortable, but as soon as I hit the hot bath, I just relax and listen to music. I bet I listen to music about three-quarters of my life; I just love it!  Malia texted me a picture of one of the praying mantis is that she released in my aunt's garden a couple of weeks ago. When they hatch, they were barely the size of her little fingernail. Now this one was about an inch long, she was so excited and so was I! Adriana came in and fed Dude and then fed me. She buzzed around and did some laundry and then headed on home. I watched some TiVo programs until I fell asleep, I don't know if it's this crazy world or the loss of my best friend, but I can't seem to concentrate on anything these days. I need to snap out of this really soon so I can get out and enjoy life with Dude! I meditated for a while and fell asleep.'s

Saturday was another relaxing day. Cindy came in and fed Dude and then fed me, I decided to stay in bed and rest. Today was supposed to be my Los Gatos high 40th reunion but of course, it got canceled because of the pandemic and the fires. I can't even imagine how many of my classmates lost their homes, some of the homes they inherited from their parents/grandparents. It's just heartbreaking! Cindy opened up some boxes that were left on the back porch and there was a really beautiful wind chime with Robby's face on it from Robert, McKenzie, David, and Melissa… They are always so sweet and thoughtful. Cindy hung it up right outside my bedroom door and I can hear it when the wind blows… It sounds so beautiful. I miss cruising around and taking pictures so I spent all day looking at and downloading pictures from around here. It's still a little scary to go out, especially on the weekends, because everybody comes over here from over the hill and doesn't social distance or wear a mask. I would just rather stay at home and be extra safe. I tried to limit the pictures that I wanted to put on my blog and I did go through them and delete some but it was really hard to decide so I ended up with a lot more than I wanted. Adriana came in and fed the hungry boy, fed me, washed some clothes, and opened some more boxes from Amazon before she went home. I have been shopping a lot more than usual just because I'm really bored and frustrated from staying in bed so much. I need to start getting up and at least exercising on my FES exercise cycle because I do always feel a lot better when I do, it's really good for my body and it doesn't start twitching like crazy all day long. Adriana went home and I just watch TV for a while, edited pictures, and listen to music until I fell asleep.

Sunday was another relaxing day. Cindy came in and fed the hungry boy and then fed me, she made me a chorizo, vegan egg, hash brown, feta and Monterey Jack cheese burrito and it was really awesome! She straightened up in here and watch some of my clothing, towels and stuff before she left. The air is still not really bearable outside, I can't wait to get up and out of here again. I watched TV for most of the day, listen to music and downloaded some more pictures. Karen came in at 2 PM to feed the hungry Dude, feed me and then do some personal care and a nice long hot bath. I still love doing the program on Sunday evening instead of Monday morning because I love resting all night before I have to get up, personal care really takes a lot out of me and I exhausted by the end of the evening. Luckily it's only taking about anywhere from 2 to 4 hours so that is awesome! I was pretty exhausted so I watched TV until I fell asleep.