a Happy Saturday to you!

[Lady Maverick]

(((Group Hug))))

I had another off night of sleep. I recognize my stress level is high and acknowledge my sleep is suffering. I will seek help if this continues.

I am enjoying being in the sunshine today. We are facing a couple of days of cold & yucky winter weather, so I appreciate these moment of beautiful weather before the storm arrives.

I spent a couple of hours in the kitchen this morning doing some prep & cooking. I had 10lbs of hamburger meat that needed to be divided into individual portion size meals and family size portion meals. I also chopped & froze 8 bell peppers to use in cooking.

[Harmony]

{Dee}
{Blessed}
{RamblinRose}

It's so hard when those we love are struggling.

I was still very tired this morning when I got up after sleeping in. I had been texting with DCousin about my 4th cousin little one, about his operation, and I think it just wore me out. I also called another DCousin in PA and found he is in pain with sciatica in his hip and down one leg. People I care about a lot in my family. Plus that long-time friend we visited in the hospital who is gravely ill right now. And I have to admit, those of you on this little village that I also care about and feel empathy for you right now. My DFriend S had been texting me about the extreme pain in her feet last evening and this morning. I am ready for some good news.

Today we went to the trivia / dessert get together of our 55+ group. The fellowship is what we go for, whatever the activity is that month. Our table didn't win but we did pretty well. They made me the secretary for one round and I had lots of trouble doing that. My allergies in my ears is at an extreme high right now and I was having trouble hearing everyone...they were whispering so other tables wouldn't hear them instead of writing their answers down and passing...and I don't hear whispers now. It made me feel sorta stupid. If I can't get my ears cleared up and my hearing back, I may have to find another ear dr. and look into this. DH's hearing aids are not working very well now. He needs to have them looked at, but the system he's in requires that they get mailed away and we wait a couple weeks for them to come back. He's not looking forward to that.

So, our communication together is not very good these days. Hearing makes a HUGE difference in everything. I can't even think straight without being able to hear properly. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of DH's problems thinking comes from his hearing.

And walking from the parking lot to the building, he was walking so s-l-o-w. He was saying how badly he needs his knee done and of course, the holdup with that is this job he needs to finish which is just stuck on no-go right now. sigh.... plus he has several bad dental problems needing attention and that is next also. We are backed up on problems around here it seems, just like many of you are.

I get the sadness of people with sick loved ones. I am feeling it too.

So, we've made a decision to tackle the gutters Monday, getting started as early in the morning as we can. DH is sleeping now, I think he's tired too for some reason. I have a sewing project to do and I'll do that next. Those sheets I bought were not worth the money. Remember I had to lengthen the pillow covers, and now the hem edge along the top has frayed out so I will cut off the fringe and resew it all back together. They need washed but I don't want to do that until the sewing is done, it's likely to get worse.

LadyM, I'm sorry for the family that lost the little one. And I'm sorry this event has triggered your memories of the struggles you've had. Oh, and thank you for the suggestion. I checked all the stuff I have and I'll buy some next shopping trip. I've been trying Lime-a-way for Lime Calcium and Rust, and I do have a Bleach one but that one is a house brand and says nothing about rust. The Lime-a-way lightened the rust stain but not completely. I'll try the one you recommended.

[lucylee]

I. Am. NOT. Believing. This.
Computer froze up, about halfway in on that download/upload and — in the process of getting it started again— I deleted the ones that had been done.
They are still on my computer (and my phone) but NOTHING on s fly site.
Aaaaauuuugghhh!!!

[DeeClutter]

PT finally came for dh's 1st session about 4:30 today. Was to be here between 3-4pm. Guess that's better than the 2 hour window for Home Health Care. It's just hard waiting so much of the day for someone to show up. But we'll make it.

Dh and I had oatmeal with fruit for dinner. That's what he wanted and certainly easy for me to fix. Now he's dozing. After PT today I'm sure I'll have to get him up and moving more often during the day. Hoping we can remember all the instructions. Did give him a pamphlet so I'll have to look at that and figure out. Think I'll end up making a chart for this too so he can check things off during the day. Not only physical exercise but the spirometer for breathing 10x once an hour. Sure that'll help his lungs a lot. But neither one of us could make the balls move on it so not sure what's up with that. Will check again before we go to bed.

[Kathryn-in-Canada]

Well that was a weekend. And it is only half done. I dread tomorrow as I'm equally busy, just with grown-up stuff.

Dgs1.8 got progressively sick over the two days. He was perfectly fine when he arrived on Friday morning. Better than he's been for the last 2 visits. Then he got sicker and sicker. He slept 10 hours overnight, instead of 11 but woke up the happiest kid in the world. He slept 2.5 hours for his nap and woke up the most miserable child in the world, sobbing and clinging to me. He cheered up after a while but was so clinging, I was holding him after a diaper change having not washed my hands because he was hysterical enough. Dgs6 helped by going to get dh to hold him while I at least washed up my hands.

I played a game with dgs6 after dgs1.8 left and then we took him home. I upset him in the car because I was frustrated with the d**m car's audio system having lost my saved kids' story channel and the fact that dgs6 was year facing so we couldn't hear him chatting with us and he was frustrated with that. So he was dropped off crying. I can't express how much I hate the car.

I also hate that dd doesn't have a car and so dgs6 was year facing because I don't have a place to keep a second car (and third) car seat (the one I have weighs about 35lbs so carrying it up and down from the apartment, even if I could find a place to keep it, isn't easy). To change orientation of the car seat takes at least 10 minutes and involves broken finger nails, tears, and a lot of swearing. So, for the short drive to take dgs home, we put him rear facing since he's still light enough for that (and small enough, barely.) They had come to my place yesterday by transit.

The car won't take 3 car seats across unless I buy specialty slim one ($600 each x3) and even then, it is very frustrating to get them in and out (we are talking a lot longer than the 10 minutes to flip just one) so I would never be able to offer a drive to anyone else if dh and I were in the car. Nor would I be able to drop the backseat to carry a larger load.

So we are at an impasse but tonight was the last straw. Dgs, at 6, is still 6lbs too light to be in a booster seat. Dgd at 4 is heavy enough but a half inch too short. Plus dsil won't let either of them be in a booster seat between two car seats. He's convinced the middle child would be crushed between the two seats in a side crash. My reading says the car won't take 2 car seats and a booster (the booster kid can't get their hand down to plug in the seat belt because the part you buckle into is flush or below the seat and is very hard even for an adult to use.) That's part of the reason it takes so long to install a car seat, because simply buckling the belt is very hard in a Tesla. I feel like they are there because they have to be by law but are made really difficult to use to give those people who don't want to wear a seat belt, an excuse not to.

Anyway, the sleepover ended badly and now I hate my car even more.

Dh had to go to Walmart on his way back so I went with him and we ate out first and then picked up a few things. They want dh to drink 2 Ensure High Protein drinks a day for a month before his surgery. This is the generic advice now. I keep thinking skinny 145 pound, incredibly muscular, dh shouldn't have to be drinking this when he is obviously so lean and so healthy (except for the failed valve.) But now he does and I'm worried he's going to gain unnecessary weight as a result of these additional calories or cut out some 'real' food he eats because he doesn't have the room to eat proper food after these drinks. If the advice had come from his doctor, I'd be fine with it, but it comes from a generic paper and while it may make sense for obese people with heart problems or frail 8r years olds with heart problems, but for dh is seems dodgy. No one has looked at his diet to say he isn't getting enough protein.

When we got home at 8, I got the apartment tidied up, ran a load of laundry, and get ready to do the 2 hours of work I needed to do before tomorrow's meeting (at 3) and then sat down at the computer. I'm exhausted so am heading to bed right now instead of working.

I have to be at church at 9:30 but if I go to sleep now, maybe I can get something done in the morning.

[lucylee]

Oh, Kathryn… I remember when the carseat were a constant aggravation. Neither of our dgrands is even using a booster seat now and it is sooo much easier. These days WILL pass; hang in there.

Y’all— I have a HUGE ta-da:
CHRISTMAS IS ALL PUT AWAY!!!
House is back to “normal” status.

We still have a stack of presents on the hearth, because we haven’t done Christmas with dmom yet (!) And she still isn’t feeling well. Said she is weaker than she has been since any other hospital stay. (Of course she was in the hospital longer this past time also.

We also left the children’s Nativity set out because Dgd loves to play with it.

I am sooo glad this is no longer hanging over my head!