Update

How can February be over already? Crazy.

Mom had an appointment with her cardiologist today about getting cleared for surgery. He wants her to have a stress test and a pacemaker check before he will clear her for surgery. Then it is on to the GP to be cleared and then, assuming she can get cleared, back to surgeon to schedule. I wish I had more patience. I'm sure everybody else wishes the same. 

Thank God for the hospital transport van! Mom's anemia has her pretty weak, so getting her in and out of car was getting kind of scary. Wonderful people pick her up in that van and take great care of her and she doesn't have to get out of the wheelchair! Bless those good people and the hospital for offering that wonderful service. 

The outing today tuckered Jo Ann out! She is whooped. 

Covid shot #2 today. Saw cousin Debbie at the clinic giving vaccines, but due to not wearing my glasses because they fog up because of my mask, I didn't see her in time to let her jab me. LOL Some other time maybe! 

John came for a visit last weekend. Mom liked that. 

Glad the weather has turned for the better. Will all this snow ever go away? 

That's all for now.

Snow Day

Where did January go?

Finn thought he wanted to go outside this a.m. but I opened the window and gave him a preview and he changed his mind . . .

I know I have been MIA for a while, but it really was same old same old. 

At my post cataract glasses appointment the eye doctor saw something wonky with my optic nerve and referred me to an opthalmologic neurologist at Wheaton Eye Clinic. I had that appointment last week and he didn't see anything to worry about . . . but wants to recheck me in 9 months. LOL Ok. Will do. I was there for 4 1/2 hours and I must stress this point. If the eye doc says you don't have to have a driver, and you have to drive home at night with your eyes dilated, take a driver! Or an uber! Arghh. I'm used to driving home in daylight a very short distance home with my eyes dilated. Driving home at night from a more populous area (Plainfield) with lots of streetlights and lots of cars sucked. Part of it is my problem for not wanting to put people out, I had many offers of transport from my kind friends, but I insisted I would be fine.  So my eye doctor has referred to to a retina specialist and now a neurologist so she definitely does not like my left eye. Both have turned out fine so far. I should just be happy about that, but oh my gosh the money, it has not been cheap, even with good insurance. 

I got a summons for jury duty but did not have to report. My former boss once made a comment that I would be the juror from hell . . . I still puzzle over that comment sometimes lol. 

On the Mom front, I was growing increasingly bitchy and frustrated that she would not go to the doctor. She kept telling me she had an appointment coming up, that she would talk to the doctor then. That appointment was for a pacemaker check with her cardiologist, scheduled every 6 months. Of course she rescheduled it once, and then the doctor rescheduled it. I kept telling her he would refer her to her GP, but oh my gosh is she stubborn! Finally I had just had it. I told Joe I am done. It is up to you now. If it was up to me I'd phone her doctor and see if you can get someone sent to house to draw blood and do a urinalysis (I was sure she had a UTI). I told Joe if I were him I would not wait too long, start working on her now, she is going downhill fast and there is no way she should be this pale and weak and failing. Something is wrong. Joe had been siding with Mom, saying stuff like "Old people are supposed to have diarrhea" and "She has good days" and "She'll come around" . . . sigh. 

So  later that day, guess what? Joe calls and Mom has a doctor's appointment that very same afternoon. I asked him how in the hell did that happen. Joe guesses that he talked her into it. One day. One day. I had been on her for months. Whatever, I'm relieved and happy she is FINALLY going. That was on Thursday. Joe takes her to appointment and calls me later at work and tells me he took her to ER for bloodwork and evaluation. They'll call in a couple of hours. She ends up getting admitted due to low hemoglobin. Uh oh. They give her blood and get her hemoglobin stabilized. And she has a UTI. They call in a gastro consult due to low hemoglobin and on Friday she has a colonoscopy and a CT scan.

They found a malignant mass in her right colon. We had follow-up with gastro guy on Thursday and found out that it has not spread, and given its location on right side the removal can often be done laparoscopically; they remove the part of the colon with the mass and sew it back together, no bag, usually one night in hospital. Next step is appointment with surgeon. I called and surgeon had a cancellation so we go tomorrow afternoon at 4:00. Then she will be need to be cleared for surgery. I hope after the surgery she can get in for some rehab because she has been not feeling well for a while and  has been very inactive is very weak. Hopefully that will change once she starts feeling better. 

She also has a hiatal hernia, and got an Rx to help with that. TUMS stock may tumble . . . 

She got home Saturday night about 5:00, exhausted. 

So doctor's appointments and surgery for Jo Ann and hopefully she will feel better. I was afraid she would say she would not do anything, but good for the PA at the gastro office, she was pretty graphic about what happens when people choose to not have surgery. So far no argument from Mom. 

We ran into Keat Cushing and his wife, Mary at the gastro office. Kind of awkward to talk about people's issues there, but always nice to see them, and they looked great!

We got a good bit of snow, thankful Joe is strong, not just for the snow but with Mom. That snow gave me noodle arms. 

I got covid vaccine #1 this week. 

We will now enjoy chicken and dumplings on this snowy day. Mom loves Lawry's seasoned salt and seasoned pepper and butter on many things, including dumplings. The Pioneer Woman's dumplings have a touch of cornmeal in them. Yummers. No more Bisquick at the Morris Mallaneys.

Peace all and stay healthy!

Kay ☘

 

Election Day & Cataract Day

The cataract was short and sweet. Check-in time was 7:15 and I was home by 9:00. Not pleasant, but there sure are worse things (thinking of colonoscopy lol). Will be good to have my triple vision in that left eye gone. 

I will miss working at the election tonight, both the money and the potluck (if Covid permits a potluck hmmm), but it was nice to have cataract done on a day off, since Election Day is a holiday for me. I wanted to get it done before end of the year and doc is only in town once a month so I didn't want to push it to December. Lots of planning for us procrastinators when trying to maximize a deductible lol. Colonoscopy and cataract, check---now I want (more like NEED) a shot in my bad knee. 

Covid is getting closer and closer. Two co-workers are currently on quarantine. Lots of suspense. So far so good for the Morris Mallaneys though, knock on wood. 

I went to visit my friend and her puppy on Saturday, we were outside for 2-3 hours, and I got sunburned and windburned. I gotta say the peeling off of the cataract drape thing was not so much fun this a.m.! It was good to get fresh air and to visit with someone who is not in my family. Still feeling socially distant, and winter is not going to help that. 

Mom is doing OK. She went through one of her weak, pale, tired spells, but is coming out of it. I cut her hair. I think I will be much better at it next time with my new, more powerful clippers. If that doesn't scare you, it probably should! John probably will not tell the story (AGAIN), of how I periodically buy clippers to cut my hair at home to save money, then end up with a bald spot, and the money saving venture is over . . . until the next time. Anyway, Mom is in a good mood with a good appetite.  I annoy her by pestering her to get out of bed and do her exercises yada yada yada. I'm sure I annoy her in many other ways too! LOL I'm so good at that. Jo Ann will be 83 this weekend. I'm sure John will be home for a meal to help celebrate in a socially distanced way. I will bake something yummy for her . . . unless I can con John into it . . .

I do not have much news. Staying close to home, determined not to get Mom sick. More suspense today with the election. We shall see what we shall see . . . hopefully in single vision!

Kay 🍂🍂

September

I don't know where the summer went. Or the spring. What a year! Doesn't it seem like it started getting dark earlier and cooling off over night? Goodness. I was exhausted the other night and turned off the TV and rolled over and holy cow it was 8:15! 

After we got back from the camping trip Mar was poking around looking for something and found the above photo from 1986. These are the same friends I took my last camping trip with. There were NO red sweatpants at the August 2020 trip! LOL  I have no recollection of owning such a thing. And Mar's shorts over sweatpants look . . . priceless. That is Donna in the middle. She always was, and still is, sort of normal . . . at least fashion-wise.

See that red satin jacket that says "Do it with Style!" OMG. That was our prize for winning the Class B USSSA Slow Pitch Softball State tournament that year. It was 1986, the year one of my women's team won state, the other got 2nd place (to the legendary Busch's Whiz Kid team) in the ASA State tourney, and my co-ed team won state. It was The Best Softball Year Ever. All was well that year, I could hit and pitch and run and field like nobody's business . . . at least in my foggy memory. There were certainly many other good years but that was the best. Except for the styling. In my own defense it must have been very cold. And it was 1986. I'm sure the beer kept me warm. I see a case of Bud and a case of Lite back there and gosh it was a sad day for me when my friends sold their boat and bought a camper. I mean I love the camper too, but the boat, so much fun  . . . and my skin . . . it looks so . . .young and smooth. And I can't even think what to say about the hat. 

I'm about ready to pull up my garden. The squirrels were pesky this year, I ate one tiny spaghetti squash, it was soooo good. I was letting the other two grow and the squirrels got them! At least they entirely consumed the squash, not like all the tomatoes I found with one bite out of them. Then they moved on to the zucchini. John told me I need to get Finn on a diet and make him stay outside and protect the garden. I had a talk with Finn about it and he agreed and will get to it after his nap.

We had the plumber out (twice) after some ickiness  in the basement. I went to visit John and his kitties last weekend and did a load of laundry over there while waiting for plumber trip #2. haha  It is always nice to have help with the laundry. Thank you Isis.

Colonoscopy is over and all is well. But I should have another one in 3 years. And my insurance company and I are having some talks about why I am getting billed for preventive care. Grrrr. 

Mom and the fam are fine, nothing calamitous to report, woo hoo! My car, since I test drove the new Toyota Rav 4 at my last oil change, has a new oxygen sensor and a new alternator. I don't know what I was thinking, letting the old car know I was test driving a new one. At my age I should know better! I'm trying to smooth things over, we shall see. 

Take care all,

Kay ☘

Covid August

Yesterday would have been the Mallaney Family Reunion, Take 58. At least that is how old I am, and Bernie told me the first one was the summer I was born. Sad that it was cancelled but I feel like it was the right decision. To my knowledge it is only the 2nd time it has not been held. I would not have felt comfortable taking Mom out. So far so good, knock on wood, with my goal to not kill mother during the Pandemic.

I wanted to get away and my friends were going camping down to Lake Shelbyville. I've been adamant about not camping in the summer, usually I go in the spring or fall only, because I don't like to be hot. Well, when you get the urge to get away during a Pandemic and you get a chance in the summer, and feel like it is rather risk free, what the heck. There were just 4 of us, and we all have been been being very careful. I got to sleep in my friends' camper, so I didn't have to mess with a tent or anything, and I could count on being cool to sleep. That is huge for me. A tired Kay is not a happy camper.

Here are some photos from the trip . . .

All the rest of the photos look exactly like that. There was lots of rain. We lost a $100 deposit on a pontoon boat rental. Not to say we didn't have fun and lots of laughs. There was Scattergories, Catch Phrase, Euchre, one bonfire that we actually could sit around (it was raining during the other fires lol), excellent food, and lots of drinking and other amusements. One day I had Camping Coffee (boozy coffee with whipped cream on top), then I had a Malibu Rum with crystal light (lemon lime/orange/lemonade-yummy), then I was too lazy to make another drink, so I cracked a beer  . . . or two.  Then it was lunch time. 

It was nice to spend some time with my friends, I had been feeling rather socially distant from them. I hope they feel that it was nice to spend some time with me! LOL

I've never camped for 5 nights before.  Typically I would always take my own car, just in case something happened with Mom or if I just got pissy and wanted to come home. But a road trip with my friend seemed much more appealing than driving by myself. Plus one of our other friends was coming down for just 2 nights, she was looking forward to the pontoon boat rental, as we all were, and I figured if I was tired, or just done with camping, I'd hitch a ride back with her, fun road trip right? Well, she called on her way down and it was pouring and the forecast was not promising--- and it was right, it rained almost constantly for the next 3 days, and she is a busy nurse and had lots to do at home, and the boat rental was not going to happen, so she turned around and went home. So yeah, I can camp for 5 nights. Next time I will pack more underwear just in case my ride don't show due to inclement weather.

I guess we didn't get any rain in Morris. 

I had to go to bed early at camping like at 8 or 8:30. I'm old.  I told my friends I'm not really going to bed, I just need to lie down. But I really wanted to go to bed. Camping kicks my ass. Then I got home on Monday and went back to work on Tuesday and oh my goodness. Camping kicked my ass all week. 

I have some other fun stuff coming up too, a routine colonoscopy that was previously scheduled in March. I figured I better try to get it in while the getting is good. Gosh that sounds sad. Anyways the doctor's office told me I need an EKG, blood work, AND a covid test before the procedure, I said, "Look, I don't need all that stuff. I just camped for five nights. If I can do that I can make it through a colonoscopy no sweat!" but she didn't go for it. Shoot. AND a $250 deposit. I can use my credit card if I want. Goodness. AND I have to have the Covid test the day before then go home. Another half day off work. Grrrrrrumble. Oh well.

The fam is doing well. Mom had a pacemaker check with the heart doctor. I wasn't too keen on her going out and about, but she needed her prescriptions refilled. So she gets there and the computer to check the pacemaker isn't even working. LOL  Oh well. At least the Rx got refilled. 

Hope everyone is doing well and how did it get to be August already! 

Kay 

May Days

What is new? Hmmm. Not much folks.

Turns out my rash was shingles! Kudos to Cousin Peggy for the diagnosis after my last blog post. I got to the doc ASAP after her e-mail.  I think I will e-mail her photos and descriptions of all my future ailments. Why didn't I get the vaccine? Good question, especially after John had shingles and I specifically asked him if he would recommend the vaccine, and the answer was a resounding YES.  Finished my medicine already. Still have the rash on my forehead. Thankful it was a mild case.

I cut my hair once, it needs it again. The bangs are perfect! Too bad they don't take up more space.  I don't get all these people whining and complaining about their hair. Get the scissors out and have some fun! By the time we are released it will have grown back.  I will caution you against electric or battery clippers though, having twice shaved portions of my head by accident. Sometimes those guards don't stay on! But scissors, yes to scissors! Remember to cut BELOW your fingers . . . one time I messed that part up too. Wow my bangs were short . . .

I went to Jewel today. I haven't been in a grocery store for a long time. John is coming home Saturday for a social distance visit for Mother's Day and he wanted burgers on the grill. In retrospect I guess I should have asked mom what she wanted for a meal, but she likes burgers too, so it is all good. Anyway I got some expensive ground beef and was rather shocked at the other meat prices. The one- way arrows for the aisles were nice, but I had to call out one young man for going the wrong way. Citizen's arrest! I gotta find that Andy Griffith, that is a good one. I thought about doing "The Scream" from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but I did not. Restraint. That is what separates me from the aliens.

I can't believe people are getting shot for asking people to put on masks! What the hell. Put on your masks and shut up and shove your political statements up your ass! I'm tired of selfish people who can't differentiate between a need and a want.

I took a ride over to Ganz Greenhouse in Marseilles today on my Working from Home lunch break and picked up some lovely garden plants. Can't wait to plant them. Too bad it is going to freeze tomorrow!

I have been going into work here and there, been doing some fingerprinting. I have one set up for 8:00 a.m. tomorrow. I don't know what I was thinking. I mean that is what time I usually start work, but I'm on Pandemic Time now, so it is gonna be rough. Between my black mask, my home haircut, my white roots, my shingles rash on my forehead, and other miscellaneous wrinkles and hairs and stuff, wow I'm quite the picture lately.

Take care folks and stay healthy!

Kathleen A.

Sheltering in Place

A good article about Coach John Wooden's strategy on handling adversity. Should be required reading for spoiled, entitled whiners. And everybody else. 

https://www.success.com/how-to-handle-adversity-dont-whine-dont-complain-dont-make-excuses/

"Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t make excuses. The finest teaching tool we have is the example we set for others, and how we handle adversity can be one of the strongest ways of demonstrating our character."

We continue to shelter in place, though I think Joe still goes on unauthorized outings to the gas station. I would too, if I still smoked! LOL He really is doing pretty good, he hits the drive thrus for lunch, that must satisfy his urge for outings somewhat. He did pick up an Rx from Jewel yesterday and though I maybe could have talked him into driving through (probably not though), I really wanted some fresh veggies and some things that have not been coming through in my pick-up or delivery orders. So he masked up and went in. 

I don't know how people shop for like two weeks at a time. I know some people shop for longer! Wow good on them. I have a hard time using produce before it starts to turn. I like our rather disorganized way of buying groceries, deciding what we are hungry for and what is on sale and going to the store whenever, or using whatever marked down meat I find at Jewel. It is on the way to work and I pop in and check that marked down section a couple of times a week. Every couple of weeks an Aldi run. Ahhh the good old days.  All this thinking about what we need for longer periods is a pain. 

The Wal mart pick up thing is working out pretty well. I allowed substitutions the first time, oops, not a good idea. We got some interesting things. Like Lloyd's Ribs instead of sausage patties? LOL You have the option to reject the substitutions when you pick the stuff up, but I have realized that most people have no notion what 6 feet is, and I just wanted to get out of Dodge, you know. And we are not picky people. It's funny how you can feel crowded, in your car, in a pick up section at Wal mart, but I did. Weirdness. 

Mom is doing well, thank God. I asked her if she wanted or needed anything from the store. I've been getting pick-up times about every 10 days, which is working out well. She tells me she wants some "good cookies". Umm I've been baking stuff for her . . . anyway the "good cookies" she wants are those sugar wafer things, the ones that come in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate! LOL  At least they will be safe from Kay . . . I get weird cravings too. 

I have a weird rash on my face and head. I think I'm officially done with yard work. There is this one side of the fence I can't work on, due to my getting an incredible rash. Doc wasn't sure what it was because apparently the rash presented "in an unusual way" on my face. Code for "I don't know what the hell that is!"  I didn't do any yard work over there, but Dad had this sign "Fighting Irish Parking Only" and wow did Bernie love that sign! Well it has seen better days, and Dad has been gone 5 years now but it was still with regret I went and removed it from the fence gate, which is just adjacent to the danger zone. Sad to take it down, but also also sort of amusing to take it down from the fence gate that is all askew from Bernie pulling into it with gusto after coming home from Quarter Beer Day at Ebbey's.  So anyway about the rash, I might have to go get it checked tomorrow if it doesn't improve because my face hurts. Weirdness seems to be the new norm. 

In fact the rash was enough to make me break quarantine and go into a store Friday afternoon. I hadn't been in a store since my Dollar General pandemic shopping trip in March before shelter in place started. Walgreens was a zoo, but Dollar General remains pretty deserted. I grabbed some calamine and some poison ivy stuff and it sure helped the itching. Nothing I had at home worked, I tried rubbing alcohol, baking soda, super hot water - all separately of course lol. We'll see how it looks tomorrow. 

I cut my hair. Now that shelter in place has been extended for another 30 days I can go a LOT shorter. My hair grows super fast and it was driving me bonkers. I'm pretty good at cutting the right side of my head but the left side is pretty much a crap shoot. I did see that Great Clips is open, but I don't really want to go there now. Especially with a weird rash. 

I'm glad the garden centers get to open. That will be my next quarantine break I'm sure, unless I have to go for rash. 

I pop into the office when there is something I can't handle via phone or e-mail. I miss my coworkers. I'm lucky and I know it. 

Masks are hot! I do not like masks. 

That is all I have for today. Peace to all. Stay well. Don't get a weird rash. 


Kay ☮