Adult Children Can be Sneaky

Another fun thing about aging has reared its ugly head.  I have increasingly become short of breath.  My nurses check my oxygen levels at each visit, and the numbers have been less than spectacular.  One of the nurses explained to me that I should be on oxygen and in order to do that, a visit to my doctor was required.  I declined, using the excuse that we are up to our collective bums in snow and I would wait for warmer weather to venture out.  I can not wear shoes due to swelling, and sock feet and snow drifts are not compatible.  She smiled, nodded and put in a call to my daughter, who is listed as next of kin on the paperwork.

Jill called her sister and younger brother, who made an appointment for me with my doctor.  The person they didn't call was me.  I guess they knew I would have some serious objections.  They did call, however, when they were enroute to my house to take me to said appointment.

I blew a gasket.  Said I wasn't going anywhere.  Said I didn't appreciate them going behind my back to make an appointment for me that I had no intention of keeping.  Said a bunch more stuff I probably shouldn't have said.

Here's the thing.  We of a certain age come to the realization that we have reached a time in life where we know we will not live forever.  And we don't like it.  Our bodies betray us.  Sometimes our minds betray us as well.  Some of us just give up and  meekly allow others to run our lives while we wait to die.  Others of us fight tooth and nail to maintain some sort of independence even when things become increasingly difficult.  And we resent the hell out of anyone trying to tell us what to do.

By the time my son and daughter reached my apartment, I had somewhat calmed down.  I yelled at them a little bit more, grabbed my coat and went with them to keep the dreaded appointment with the doctor.

Blood was drawn, tests were taken as was a chest X-ray.  Everything came out OK except for the oxygen levels.  The oxygen equipment will be delivered sometime today.

As angry as I was with my kids, I am still eternally grateful that they love me enough to risk Mom's wrath.  I acknowledge the fact that I can be a royal pain in the patoot.  And even with that being said, my kids go to great lengths to try to keep me above ground and in their lives.

God love them.  I know I sure do.

Spring in Minnesota - 2

This is the same corner as the picture Duane took this morning.  By 5 pm visibility was down to near zero. 

The ditches along the freeway are full of vehicles.  Duane  was listening to the scanner and heard about a car stuck in the snow in the middle of the street just a few blocks away.

I believe hot chocolate and a warm green fuzzy blanket are in my future for this evening.  And a prayer for the police and first responders who have to be out in this mess. 

Spring in Minnesota

Duane posted this picture on Facebook this morning.  That is my neighborhood.  The middle of April.  More snow predicted for all day today.  And maybe part of tomorrow.

Happy Spring.  Sigh.

Nothing

I have nothing to write about lately.  Just passing the days doing a little sewing, a little crocheting and a lot of reading.  I have settled into the routine of my cleaning lady, home health care nurses and grocery delivery.  There is so much crap going on in the world that it is hard to pick just one thing to rant about.  Sometimes it is overwhelming.  And I can do nothing to stop the train wreck that seems to be overtaking my beloved America.  So instead I am enjoying the simplicity that is my life.

Go read those in my side bar.  Lots of good stuff there.  I will be back next week, hopefully with some inspiration.  :)

Tidbits

It is 14 degrees outside tonite.  Mother Nature really needs an attitude adjustment.

Even with the cold temps, I am finding out that popsicles are a good thing.  Popsicles are also addicting.  Just ask my kids who are feeding my addiction.

A cleaning lady who will swamp out the inside of my refrigerator without being asked is worth her weight in gold.

I think I may be  little bit burned out in the crochet department.  Time to do something else for a while.  Maybe work on the stacks of quilt pieces waiting to be sewn together.

A train had five cars jump the tracks.  I live half a block from the railroad tracks.  I am glad the derailment occurred on the other end of town away from any houses.  Small blessings are good.

Granddaughter Boston was in a dance competition this week.  Her Dad called to tell me that of the three highest awards in the tap dancing category, one of them went to Boston.  Way to go, girl!!  Grandma is proud of you.

The three youngest grands, Boston, Maddie and Jacob, called me a few days ago.  There was no special reason.  Just wanted to know how I was doing and to tell me what they had been up to.  I love those calls.

More snow is on the way Sunday.  I now understand why the 'global warming' people changed their tune and now talk about 'climate change.'  Not much warming going on here.

I have all the sympathy in the world for those kids who lived through the school shooting in Florida.  But I truly hope the 15 minutes of fame is nearly at an end for those few who think they know best when it comes to gun control.  I wonder if they know how badly they are being used by the gun hating politicians.

I believe it is time to do some baking.  I'm thinking chocolate chip cookies and maybe a batch of cupcakes.  Chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting.  One can never, ever have too much chocolate.

And that's pretty much the extent of the excitement here in my little home sweet apartment.  Next week may be even more exciting.  I hear we might have a warming trend.  Might hit 40 degrees.  Happy dance time!

The day after Easter means...

Pie for breakfast.

Ham sandwiches for lunch.

Ham dinner from leftovers.

A big pot of ham and beans.  That will have to wait a couple of weeks.  A few months ago I had an infestation of little black bugs here in my apartment.  They were concentrated in my bedroom around my pantry closet.  That was the first time in the 21 years I have lived here that there has been an insect problem.  Well, except for a few fruit flies during canning season.  Anyway, I finally discovered the bugs were coming from my dry beans.  Tossed out the beans - problem solved.  I will order beans next week and make enough ham and beans for a couple of meals for me and for Duane, and then can the rest.

When I go to replenishing my stock of dry beans, I believe I will freeze them for a week and then vacuum seal them.  That should take care of any future creepy crawly problems.

My landlord knocked on my door a short time ago to let me know the water would be shut off while they fixed a pipe in the basement that had sprung a leak.  Not a problem.  I store cases of bottled spring water for drinking and lots of 2 liter soda bottles and large juice bottles of water for washing up, etc.  The lack of water gave me a really good excuse to postpone laundry and to spend the time playing with green and purple yarn.  Not that I needed an excuse .  :)

I have been glancing out my windows now and then, waiting for the snow to start falling.  Between now and Tuesday evening we are supposed to get 6 - 8 inches of the stuff. 

 Happy Spring!!

Saturday Bits and Bobs

Fridays are good days, especially if you have hermit tendencies.  Friday means that once the home health care nurse leaves I have three whole days plus the rest of Friday to myself.  When you have lived alone for ten years, it takes some doing to get used to having people in and out of your home.  I have come to terms with that but still enjoy my alone time.  Now that alone time can be interrupted by kids and grands and you will hear nary a complaint from me.

It helps that the two nurses who come to work on my legs are both cheerful souls.  I kid them about drawing straws to see who loses the draw and has to come here and deal with this grumpy old lady.  They just laugh at me. Both are very good at their jobs.

I get a kick out of the cleaning lady.  She is a chatterbox, but doesn't seem to care if anyone is listening.  Just a nod of my head or an "Um Hum" from me is enough.  She does an excellent job.  And Wednesday she left me a lovely Easter card - so thoughtful.

Mother Nature seems to be taking a page from Hillary Clinton's playbook, refusing to just go away.  Overnight we got maybe two inches of snow and there is the threat of more come Monday.  Guess it will be a while before the scent of lilacs is in the air.  Sigh.

I am hanging up my crochet hook for a couple of days to give my cramping fingers a bit of a rest.  And then it will be 'forward, march' with Boston's afghan.  The green and purple yarns make it fun to work on.

When you have several children who have spouses and inlaws, you don't always spend holidays with them.   We have to learn to share.  So this year it will be just Duane and me for Easter dinner.  He is roasting a ham and I am in charge of the potatoes and vegetables.  If I am feeling really ambitious, there might just be a cherry pie with ice cream involved.

This is me...wishing all of you a very blessed Easter.