luvteaching

@Sharon in AZ Congratulations on your adopting as well. I know it became legal in September and we were in El Centro, CA but that's where the memory gives up. On the other hand I can detail the day they called to say we were approved and the call later that same day to say they had a little boy if we were interested (Dec.5), going to hear about him (Dec. 6) and his visit to meet us (Dec.7). This placement was when we lived in San Diego. Karen

@kazu Thanks Jacqui! Our DS has been a blessing but he sure has added a few grey hair to my head over the years. I sometimes wondered if we were going to make it through the teen years but he's turned out to be a wonderful person. He is there when we need him and he's so good with DH. He's also built the ramp outside, installed the walk-in shower and put up all the grab bars to make things safe. When I think back to that little red-headed boy who crossed the doorstep 44 years ago I'm so blessed. Karen

Good morning, We're having rain today and that's fine - better than ice! Today is special in our household as 44 years ago we had our son placed with us for adoption. He was a 2.5 year old red-headed ADHD child who made us parents. He's turned out to be a wonderful man who still has issues focusing but will do anything for you. I don't remember what day he became legally ours but this day is ingrained in me. DH is making progress and there is hope. Yesterday he stood up in the parallel bars unassisted 6 times. That's a first as he usually needs some assistance. I told him I'd bring him a Costco chocolate sundae today. We've decided to gift ourselves new appliances for Christmas to do a kitchen make-over. Yesterday I priced out fridge, dishwasher, stove and range hood at Home Depot and today I'll check one of our local stores for comparison. Best wishes to everyone celebrating and kind thoughts to all. Karen

Good morning everyone, Not much to report. The weather is warming up a bit and no temps in the freezing range for a few days and clouds and rain. I'm happy to see rain for a few days. Today is off to recycling and then to see DH. He's holding his own and our biggest issue is getting him to stand consistently. Once up he can walk although it's slow. I'd love him to be home for Christmas and am very cautiously optimistic it can happen. Prepared for it not to happen as well. His family's Christmas is the 27th so may have to attend on my own which is fine but not optimal. @JazzyV I agree that the interment of the Japanese Americans was not the finest hour. Has anyone read the book Dear Miss Breed? It's the story of a San Diego librarian who had many of her clients (young ones) in camps in the San Diego area. It was a good read and lots of historical photos. I have the tree mostly decorated and now time to get the cards out and get the Christmas letter done. I need to get the cards to Canada in the mail sooner than later. @marshhawk We are attending our local Skagit Symphony's Holiday concert matinee on Sunday. DH is really looking forward to it. I have our local bus company picking us up with a handicapped accessible bus and taking us to and back. This is a free service but they have a limited area. I wish I could get it to bring him own but we are outside the area. Have a good day everyone! Karen

we were on the Nieuw Amsterdam a year ago September and no tiles and told they'd be mailed. Guess what showed up last week? You got it - the tiles! Karen

Good afternoon everyone, I came home from seeing DH as it hasn't gotten above freezing today and I wanted to be off the roads! I went in today mainly because of his Care Conference. They are starting to discuss him coming home but no date yet. Progress. They also got the okay to take off the big heavy boot! The two deep tissue injuries are still there. The smaller one is seeing some healing but the other bigger one is slower to heal. I was able to talk to a person on the Wound Care team yesterday and that was helpful. I'd been trying for a few weeks to get in communication with them as they only come in on Wednesday and are gone by 9:00 AM! Anyway, the person who called answered my questions and I was able to provide information and background so a successful call. Yesterday DH was wonderful. He did 60 feet in the parallel bars and, for the first time, walked with the walker and did 59 feet. He's one tired guy today. DS checked the outside lights a few weeks ago on a nice day so I was able to simply plug them in and set the timer. The tree is up and has lights on it but that's as far as I've gotten. This afternoon is getting gifts wrapped to take to BC on Saturday when my friend and I go see my Mom. My tradition is to watch the Santa Clause movies with Tim Allen as I wrap so #1 is ready to put in the DVD player. Have any of you tried Crumbl cookies? They are new to our area and I've been told they are delicious, rich, and a bit on the pricey side. Enjoy the evening. Karen

Good morning, Well the snowstorm in this area fizzled out. We got wind and rain overnight but just a slight dusting of the white stuff. I got the tree up yesterday and the lights on. The facility called mid-afternoon and told me that they'd gone in DH's room and he was sitting on the floor. He wanted to get in bed and was tired of waiting for them to help. He seemed to be fine and they were going to be monitoring him every 15 minutes. No follow up. calls so he should be ok. I called at 8:00 AM to ask to have the Wound Care team call me (they are only there on Wednesday) as DH has a deep tissue injury on his left heel. It's now 9:23 AM and no call (they are usually gone before 9:00) so we'll see if anything comes of it. Being an advocate takes a lot of work! Meanwhile I'll get a few things done here, let it warm up a bit and then head in to see DH and spend some time. Mousse - he loves the daily mousse specials in the Lido on a BHB! when we go for lunch I am asked to get him his mousse first so he has it while I get the rest of lunch and then he gets a second one for dessert! Karen

Ok - the snow has started! @Cruising-along you didn't have to share you know! The roads were dry and so I headed in to see DH and take the promised milkshake for yesterday's walking (50 feet in the parallel bars and strawberry) but the milkshake machine didn't work at our closest Jack-in-the-Box so he'll have to wait for the next trip in. I stayed about 90 minutes with him, quickly did the banking (tomorrow is pension day) and stopped to read some Starbucks cards and get a cranberry bliss bar. By the time I came out of Starbucks the snow was swirling and the wind was making it blow sideways. I Headed north to us and right now it's coming down pretty straight, the road was ok, but we're expecting winds up to close to 20 mph tonight. I'll wait until the morning to put out the garbage can. The B.C. ferries have totally shut down the runs from the mainland to Vancouver Island due to the wind. Now my list includes getting the tree up (fake), doing some wrapping, etc. Karen

Good morning Dailyites! Today we are supposed to start getting snow. It's currently 20F on the front porch and the sky is a grey "snow" sky but it needs to warm up a bit for the white stuff to happen. Our roads were quite wet yesterday when I was driving home (in daylight) so I'm hesitant to head out this morning. I'd warned DH and the staff that I would probably stay home today due to weather conditions and he was ok with it. Yesterday he walked 50 feet in the parallel bars! I owe him a milkshake (strawberry) on my next trip in. I have plans to get things done at home today - rearrange the living room and put the tree up (not decorate but up), do some cleaning, make some cookies, get some wrapping done (I'm heading to BC on Saturday possibly and need to take gifts up) and get the Christmas cards out. I feel a bit guilty not going in to see DH but I could really use the day at home and I don't need to get into an accident due to the roads. I'm a wimpy snow and ice driver. Have a good day everyone! Karen

Hi @lobsternight from a fellow Canadian who married an American. To highlight someone's name do shift 2 (@) and then start typing the person's handle. They'll pop up and you'll see it in blue. I agree that the lower mainland tends to shut down if there's snow! I was born in Kamloops and raised in Coquitlam. I married an American 45 years ago and here I sit. Still a Canadian citizen though. Karen

Good morning everyone, @JazzyVMy condolences across the miles. DH gave me some hope yesterday as he was so much more his old self. I gather, from anecdotal reports and his own admission, that he got tired of waiting for them to come and put him in the bed so he did it himself. The aides came in to do it and found him all set. He told them he did it himself, but they still asked around and nobody said they helped. Now they are keeping a close eye on him! Yesterday he walked 28 feet in the parallel bars (first walking in over a week) and his standing up was almost unassisted. Hope..... We have snow in our forecast starting on Wednesday and I'm not much of a snow driver so we'll see how it goes. It's not supposed to accumulate to too much but it's the cold temperatures and the overnight freezing that bother me. I'm prepping DH for me not coming in as much or staying as long. I do have a care conference for him on Thursday. We have a light dusting of snow this morning but the sun is out. Today is going north to Bellingham for a few errands and tomorrow is taking care of banking and a few errands south in Mount Vernon and Burlington. That way I'm set for the rest of the week if Mother Nature isn't kind. Have a lovely day everyone! Karen

Good morning, We had a nice Thanksgiving Day even if it was spent at the Care Center. Our friends brought us a lovely dinner - turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots from the garden, fruit salad, apple pie and Earl Grey tea. I supplied the homemade rolls and the staff gladly accepted the last 4 and were eating away on their break. DH had a hard time sitting up and keeping his body in control so I had him put back in bed and he ate every†hing on his plate - but slowly. I was getting ready to leave and he not-so-gently reminded me to make sure to leave his apple pie! I was out on Black Friday shopping this morning. I'll also do some on-line. Today was Fred Meyer for socks, boxers, Fat Max measuring tapes for DS (He gets one at Christmas and I save the other one for his birthday at the end of July), and ice cream. I went in the store in dry weather and came out to a lot of rain. Heading back in shortly as I get my Covid booster at 11:00 and then in to see DH. Have a great Friday! Karen

Good morning, Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate! We do both the Canadian one and the American one in this house. @VictOriann Happy #60 to you both! @kaz Happy heavenly birthday for Jose and hugs to you! The dough is in the bread machine and the machine should be beeping soon for the next step. I'll be heading out to the care facility to spend the day with DH. He's having some ups and downs this week. Our good (very good) friends are bringing Thanksgiving dinner to us. The care facility brought a table and some chairs into DH's room yesterday and we can eat in privacy which will be nice. Covid has reared its head in the facility but no cases in DH's wing so that's good. So far several patients and at least 7 staff members. I'm hoping his wing stays Covid free. Enjoy the day everyone! Karen

Good morning, It's a cold morning again here in the Pacific Northwest. I'm just south of Bellingham and north of Mount Vernon to give you an idea. It was a lovely sunrise and pretty red - rain is on the way by Tuesday. DH had a quiet day yesterday and was in bed when I got there and stayed that way. He was alert and chatty until mid-afternoon and then started tuckering out. I figured this was happening as he'd done so much on Friday. He had no therapies yesterday. I did bring him his strawberry milkshake and he wasn't about to let anyone get near it! This morning is a lazy morning for me. I'm still in cozy pj's and fuzzy socks but will shower and get moving soon. I need this kind of morning every once in a while. I've made chocolate chip cookies and addressed the Thanksgiving cards so now need to address and stamp them for the mail tomorrow. I've even got some laundry going - I'm fluffing the bed pillows and washing sheets. It doesn't seem such an onerous task in fuzzy socks! Have a great day everyone! Karen

Good morning! It's 20F on the thermometer on the front porch with lots of blue skies and sunshine. I'll take National Adoption Day as our son is adopted. We adopted him in San Diego. He was 2.5 years old and came walking, talking, almost potty trained and a mop of red hair! He's 46 now, the red has faded a bit but you see it in his beard and a few other places and he's still a talker. DH is making slow progress. Yesterday was very good in many ways. He stood at the parallel bars without help getting up and stood for a minute which is good. Later he walked 30 feet in the parallel bars with minimal assist then wheeled his wheelchair 214 feet back to the room. This was in addition to the arm machine and the bike. He'll be tired today. On the downside he was prepped for a shower and the therapist and I noticed blood coming from the bandage on his heel where he has a deep tissue wound. The Wound care team saw it on Wednesday. In addition to blood there was some other oozing. He had his shower (they covered up his leg), and got dressed and wanted to be in bed and then there was blood still oozing. I got the nurse but she was busy doing diabetic checks, etc. and said she'd get to it when she got to our end of the hall. Well, I left at 6:00, DH was having his dinner, and she was just getting to our end of the hall. I asked her to call if there was anything wrong and she didn't call so I'll see what I find out shortly when I head into town. Being a caregiver and an advocate is a 24-hour job! Have a great weekend everyone! Karen

@scubacruiserx2 Sorry to disappoint but that's not the Lions Gate Bridge. I believe it's the Port Mann one.

Good evening, It's been a good day. DH walked today - not as much as @Quartzsite Cruiser's but the most he's done - 26 feet! I am rewarding him with an Oreo Cookie milkshake when I go in tomorrow. @atexsixBruno - it was on the Alaska cruise last year - Nieuw Amsterdam - that we met. I enjoyed seeing DD at the Lincoln Center stage and chatting with him. I'm sorry he's declining. You're doing a great job of being there and taking care of him. Kudos! Please tell him hi for me and I'm thinking of him. @dfish, THanks for the ideas. If I don't learn something tomorrow I'll start requesting the info in writing. That's a great idea! Rehab places are scary and I feel for the people who don't have people advocating for them. The people in direct contact with DH are very kind and caring but they are hampered by "the system". Karen

Good morning everyone, It's a cold clear day here in the PNW and I love it! Rain isn't in the forecast for almost a week which is nice. DH is making progress but slow. He has a heel problem with a deep tissue injury which is slowing him down. I had a Care Conference yesterday unbeknownst to me until I got there. Communication is not a strong suit at times from the facility. Overall he is making slow progress. I can't talk to the wound care people who change his heel dressing because they only come on Wednesday (wound care Wednesday) and they are done before 9:00 AM. His blood work that was ordered last Friday was finally done yesterday. It gets frustrating trying to be an advocate. Oh well - we soldier on. @Quartzsite Cruiser Your husband sounds. like he's doing better than mine (minus the blood pressure issues). Hang in there! Caregiving isn't for the faint of heart! Now off to see DH for a few hours and then I have a 3:00 PM Doctor's appointment (check in with the PA) in Bellingham which is about 25 minutes north of us. While I'm up there I plan on a bit of shopping at a few favorite spots and then a stop at Boomer's Drive-In for chicken Swiss mushroom burger to bring home for dinner. Karen

Good morning, I got up to a light dusting of snow! Fortunately it's on the grass but the road looks clear. I don't need to head out for a couple of hours so hopefully it will warm up and be gone by then. DH continues to make slow progress. He was seen by the PA on Friday and she ordered a chest x-ray stat as well as one to check his ankle with the broken bone. Stat didn't happen until yesterday morning (a sooner or later but not right now attitude) but when I got to Life Care I was told there was no sign of pneumonia and no broken bone. Just waiting for the facility doctor or PA (who only come 2-3 times a week) to ok taking off the boot and then try to figure out why he's so congested and his lungs are wheezy. Yesterday he worked on standing and that seemed to go well I was told. I wasn't there until 12:30 PM. I went to the pool for water aerobics and then for a much needed haircut! My hair is thick and I always feel I should lose 5 lbs after a haircut but the scale never shows it. Oh well.... Have a great day everyone. We did DH's ballot a few weeks ago and it was in the mail. I checked on-line and it was accepted. All of Washington is mail in ballot and I like that. As for me, I'm a Canadian citizen and permanent US resident so no vote. I do the research for DH so keep on top of things (sort of). Karen

Good morning from a very wet and windy Pacific Northwest! DH is making progess slowly but surely. Wednesday he was up in the parallel bars and walked 14 feet. Yesterday he did 21 feet. He is still struggling with transferring from the bed to wheelchair and back. Walking would be easier if he didn't have the boot on but that's life. Now idea on time line yet but at leas there's some progress. He's also more alert, talkative, etc. and he's stubborn. I think his therapists are getting tired of "I want to do it myself!". Karen

Good morning everyone, CC seems to be working this morning. We're having a couple of nice days in the Pacific Northwest but are due for more rain on Friday and there have been snowflakes in the long range forecast (at night thank heavens!). DH is progressing - slowly - but progressing. I'm finding I'm having to be much more of an advocate for his care at the rehab than I was in the hospital. At the rehab the wheels move slowly even though the staff is trying. He can transfer to the wheelchair from the bed with a lot less assistance now but they still haven't had him up and walking. I had appointments with the neurologist and foot and ankle doctor on Monday but no transport was available (nobody working on Monday could drive the van) so had to cancel. Will talk to the physician's assistant today to get direction on where to go from here. DH has a good attitude, is counting down the days to the next cruise (240 on the Eurodam) and is eating well. I spend about 6 hours with him daily and that keeps his memory function going. Karen

@kazu Jacqui, have a wonderful trip! I'm really looking forward to reading all about it! Karen

Good evening everyone from a blustery Pacific Northwest, @grapau27Happy Birthday! DH update - did his care conference today and he's making progress but it's slow. Today he was up in the wheelchair for close to 6 hours so that was very good. He did the arm machine and had no problem doing 15 minutes at a good pace. It's just going to take some time to rebuild his strength. @rafinmd you can take him off the list or move him to the rotation. Thank you so much! Tomorrow is the Celebration of Life for my teaching partner Wayne and I have my speech/eulogy ready. His wife, Karen, has 4 of us speaking so my topic is his days at school. Our school colors were red and white so I'm thinking of wearing something with red in it. Thanks for all the good thoughts for DH. Karen

Good morning! Nothing new on DH at the moment. He has an upbeat attitude, liked watching the Seahawks yesterday, and is eating well (maybe a bit too well). I'm hoping to find out mid-week, in a Care Conference, what the plan is and a possible release date. I grew up in a suburb of Vancouver, BC. In 1963 we drove across Canada to Toronto to see/meet shirttail family (I turned 10 between Medicine Hat, Alberta and Portage La Prairie Manitoba), My dad was stationed in Orillia, Ontario during WWII. Anyway, we did the trip again in 1972 and my mother fed us bologna and mustard sandwiches every travel day both directions. I rarely eat bologna even to this day! It's raining quite steadily and I need to get moving. Water aerobics today (2 classes) and then the afternoon sitting with DH and working on needlework. Karen

Good evening everyone, Thanks for all the good wishes for DH - they are working. I got there at 11:30 today to find him sitting on the edge of the bed having done PT and OT, had a shower and his nails were trimmed and cleaned. He was cheery and all was well. His lunch was a big hit - meatloaf, sour cream mashed potatoes, and brussell sprouts (they were not a hit) and peach cobbler for dessert. He ate everything but the sprouts! It's a journey with him but he is always asking when our cruises are (251 days to the Eurodam to Alaska) and that is great motivation for him. Have a good evening and thanks again! Karen