More from the Infirmary

Nothing earth shattering to report. 

John continues to rehab. He has had a couple of doctor's appointments, stitches out, x-rays. He is having physical therapy at the house a couple of times a week. A slow, painful process. Another doc appt this week at Hinsdale Orthopaedics, and we'll see what is next. His kitties will be glad to get him home, and I'm sure he misses them too.  My kitties will miss him when he goes. They love having another person to alternately entertain and ignore. 

I forgot to post this, but a while back, before The Fall, I came home from work and it looked like the house had been ransacked. In every room something was knocked over, messed up, just general chaos. Everything was off the top of my dresser, lamp knocked over, stuff like that. I asked mom and Joe what happened, but they were seemingly oblivious to what must have been a somewhat noisy event. I think quite a bit of napping goes on during the day lol. Went into mom's room and Gigi got up from her sleep on the top of the cat tree with a piteous meow, and I noticed she was wearing a hula skirt? No, not a hula skirt but a handle from a gift or shopping bag, around her round belly, with some of the bag hanging from it. LOL  Poor kitty. 

Mom is holding pretty steady, but has a pressure sore on her heel. Yikes. Nothing too bad, we are keeping a close eye on it with the help of the nurse and bath aide from hospice. Some changes in her meds have improved her leg pain and her sleep. Or maybe, due to my relocating to the front porch, I just don't notice as much when she is up at night. LOL

John is sleeping in my room, and I'm on the front porch. Sleeping in the unheated front porch is fine. Now that stretch where the wind chill was like -40, that was rough, and I ran the space heater. Only one night did I get up to use the facilities and coudln't get back to sleep because it was too cold, and I retreated to the couch. Mom's old bed is out there, having been displaced by the hospital bed, and it is very comfy. On the worst nights I have a triple layer of blankets, one electric. On regular nights one blanket is fine. One blanket is my preference even in the heat. One of the cats insists on sleeping out there so she does disturb me when she wants to be waited on, but other than that it is quite pleasant and cozy. And quiet lol. And there has been so much mild weather. Crazy weather. 

Having my 7th anniversary at my "new" job this week. Sure has gone fast. 

I like my Hyundai Tucson. It does quite nicely hauling John to his appointments. I somehow got a podcast on there that plays all the time. I can't get rid of it. I feel like Lester Holt is my passenger, speaking in his smooth, calming voice about murders and such. Life is so interesting. 

John and I have been watching miniseries on Netflix, usually about 6 episodes. Crazy number of them available. John is also hooked on Wheel of Fortune now, not by choice. LOL  I'm not sure how John feels about the Mallaney Menu, but we have more veggies in the fridge now, and we have Big Salads a lot. 

Mom and Dad's anniversary on the 9th, they were married in 1959. 

So I'm off on Thursday to take John to his doctor appointment in Western Springs, and we have been having lunch at Portillos and stopping at Trader Joes, so it turns into kind of a fun day off for me. Not so much fun for John when they are trying to increase the bend in his knee . . . ouch!

Have a good week all!

Random Things During Convalescence

Random conversations around the Mallaney household:

John: "There is a random thread on Reddit about the 'pooh stick'. I never read it though."

Kay: "Would you like to see the pooh stick?" (Toilet aid delivered from Walmart-still in box. Whew, he doesn't need it).

John: "No."

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Mom: "How is John's arm."

Kay: "His arm is fine. He hurt his leg."

Mom: "Not that John, the OTHER John."

John, later: "I'm glad I don't know Other John because i don't think Mom likes him very much."

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Kay: "OMG remember that recurring nightmare I had about a blizzard and power outage and being trapped with the family in the kitchen keeping warm with the gas oven/stove? It could really happen now, because you are here!" Please don't worry, we are well aware of the dangers of using a gas oven/stove for heat. I'll make sure there are brownies or a turkey or something in there. Thank you for your concern though. I think Bernie was in that dream too, so it is probably very unlikely to happen . . . probably. 

******************

John: "I've never seen anyone so happy to go to work."

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John has been sleeping in my bedroom. I have moved to the front porch. Kay, quickly trimming her annoying bangs before work with a battery powered clipper thing holding a trash can under her head to catch the trimmings: "Last time I did this I shaved off most of my right eyebrow."

John: "That is the strangest thing I have ever seen. I would just use scissors."

Kay: "Scissors!?"

*******************

Kay, peeking in crack in bedroom door in the dark, trying to to see if John is awake/needs anything.

John, quite startled: "ARGHHHH OMG a floating white face in the door!"

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Follow-up appointment for John with surgeon a week from Tuesday.

Beautiful outside, but too bad it had to snow for it to happen.

Kay, signing off from the Mallaney Infirmary

12 lords a leaping . . . 16 screws a screwing and 1 steel plate . . .

 I know it has been ages. Life had been fairly boring and routine (a good thing!). Since last post I got my car back from the body shop, it was not unscathed by the storm after all ($5,000); mom went to her "vacation" at hospice and hated it; Mom turned 86; and, John slipped on Mom's wheelchair ramp leaving from Christmas, landed hard on his right knee, and did a number on his femur! It was raining and wow it was bad. The ER sent him home recommending an ortho consult after patching him up and giving him pain meds. He was in tremendous pain. Got into ortho on Thursday. Doc immediately contacted a trauma surgeon at Good Samaritan (Dr. Dougherty - awesome!) and the surgery happened on Friday. It was long and complicated but John is put back together now. Now on to recuperation and therapy! It has been a whirlwind for sure. Thankful for an excellent surgeon and I'll keep you posted!

Kay, looking forward to boring times again!

July

I know. It has been ages. Here is what is happening around the ranch . . . 

John had a birthday in July. For his treat he chose a lime cake . . .? Interesting. No german chocolate to be found, no carrots, something different. Well, it was delicious.  How bad can something with cream cheese frosting be? He came home for a nice meal (Naf Naf Grill, yum!) and cake, and a good time was had by all. 

I had a birthday in June and received this from my lovely coworkers. 

Poor Misty had a lump removed under her front leg. It cost $900. She just got her stitches out and the lump was benign, yay! That is her, taking it easy. Misty likes to get high. She is always looking up at the top of the fridge, or high shelves, anywhere she can get high and look down upon us lol. 

I got a new car in May. I really wasn't in the mood, but the plan was when mom's car bit the dust Joe would drive my 2010 red Rav and I'd get a new car. I'm 61 now, and gosh I thought it would be nice to have a newer car when I retire, all paid off, as opposed to a 20 year old car. Well it happened, mom's car bit the dust. Here is to 0% financing on Hyundai Tucsons. John has had  a Hyundai forever and had great luck with it, and 2 of my sort of OCD friends bought Tucsons, so I have to figure they did some research and stuff, so what the heck. I just make that assumption because I do not want to call them and hear about the decision.  The very fact they purchased the vehicle is enough for me.  Despite my protestations about buying a gray car I did, indeed, buy a gray car. Amazon Gray. I don't know what it means. Getting a colored car is harder than it should be. Everything is white, black, gray or silver.  Fine to look at but I do not want to own those colors. The only other color the salesman had at the Hyundai dealership was red, which I do not object to, but a little change sometimes is nice. We were walking to the red car and I saw this one. I said what is that weird color. He told me it was Amazon Gray, and that it was unusual in that in certain light it had a greenish tinge. I said, "Wow, kind of grayish green, like a zombie!" To his credit, he didn't seem too alarmed by that observation. I like the car, though it is a trifle fancy pants for me. I'm still getting used to all the buttons and features and it really wants me to keep my hands on the wheel. Last week I realized there is indeed a gas gauge, and I don't just have to use the "120 miles to empty" words. Whew. 

Yesterday, after Friday night's storms, I woke up to this:

Somehow the car appears unscathed by the heavy falling branches. How that fell between the car and the fence and didn't ding up my new wheels I do not know! That sucker was heavy! Joe and I were dragging it to the curb, ugh it was hard. Esp when you are lazy and way out of shape. This man and his son driving by saw us struggling. Hopefully he didn't hear me cursing. He stopped his truck and he and his son popped out and  picked that thing up and carried it to the curb. Bless them! Good people. 

John went off on another his adventure in July, so I checked up on his kitties while at the same time keeping an eye on my good friend's cat over by Coal City. I was a multi-county cat sitter there for a while. Anyway, it was nice for John to have an adventure not marred by some unfortunate event, like a drunk roomie or food poisoning, or altitude sickness, any of that stuff. Until it was time for him to come home, and it was stormy weather here and his flight got canceled and he had to stay overnight in NY on his own dime.  Could have been worse, but still. So close to a troublefree adventure. Maybe next time. LOL He did get to fly home first class from Washington though. John's cats pretty much ignored me the whole time I was at his house, but they are cats and I totally understand. I know they were happy to have me there tending to them, fluffing their blankets and important stuff like that. 

Mom is holding steady. Love the nurse and bath aide from hospice. I found out the other day about respite care.  It hasn't happened yet, because there is no space at the hospice in Joliet, but mom can spend 5 days, and get all her meals and stuff.  All we send with her is her clothes and meds. She could do the respite care at one of the nursing homes here in Morris, but the hospice in Joliet is very nice, according to everybody, so we are waiting until she can get in there.  Mom is looking forward to a change of scene too, and will be a nice break for Joe and me. Joe especially, since he gets up in the night with her since I need sleep for work. So mom's "vacation" as we are calling it hasn't happened yet, but hopefully will be soon. This all came about because I was asking the bath aide about extra care in case I take a vacation. My friends are renting a house in Florida in February, so we shall see. 

Joe has cataracts and needs to have those taken care of. He had a birthday in March. But I think that was on the last blog post? God forbid I should repeat my exciting news  . . . lol. 

The historical society came to take some old school records off our hands, and I found Uncle Jim's high school scores.  Kind of hard to read, but in case anybody needs more confirmation, the Mallaneys are not only good looking but intelligent as well. 

Best to all.

Kay ☘

February - March

Started this in February . . . but it was so boring . . . 

Here is the February:

I went out Saturday night! Walmart and St. Vincent DePaul were pretty much deserted. 

Aunt Becky, from mom's side, passed away. It was so nice to see my ageless cousins, even at such a sad event. Lots of childhood memories. In my mind Aunt Becky and Uncle Jack had "The Party House" when I was a kid. We loved going to their house in town, a block from the park, best friends just a stone's throw away, an interesting upstairs! Of course they loved coming to the farm! LOL  Nice memories. Both houses had a good picnic table under a tree and beer and were very kid friendly. 

Mom had a catheter put in. Nurse suggested it, mom was tired of being wet all the time. Wow, what a difference. Mom started sleeping better, she was much more comfortable, everything seemed so much easier. Until it went on the fritz. Nurse comes once a week right now, we'll get it ironed out. 

Cats are good. Much amusement. Much pickiness when it comes to food. Maybe John has the right idea. He gives his cats one flavor cat food, a can at a time, and they don't get another until the bowl is empty. I'm not that strict . . . it is like a buffet in there lol. I'll get it figured out. Happy kitties are very important. Just so they don't get big boned (fat) like Finnegan. 

Looking forward to long weekends the next two weekends. I love long weekends. 

Now back to real time in March:

Mom got the catheter taken out. It was leaking and she said it was uncomfortable. Oh well. At first she loved it. Other than that she is doing pretty well. Appetite is good. Joe said Mom is gaining weight. I don't know about that, but good. She was getting too bony. I'm not even sure I have bones. The hospice nurse and bath aide are lovely. Finding a cat on mom's bed more and more often, which tickles me.

She did have a bit of a bug for a few days, right around St. Pat's, so I missed my party. She had it coming out of both ends and she was pretty miserable. I had a DUI dream the week before the party, so maybe it was just as well. I mean a naked sobriety test on the main Street in Morris, what a nightmare. What would Freud say about that? I don't think I want to know. 

Not much else new. I had my first taste of Lou Malnati's pizza and Lou's salad. Good eats. That salad . . . wow. How did I get so old without eating Lou Malnati's I wonder . . . ? My coworkers were stunned by that fact. Also that I haven't seen Star Wars, or read Harry Potter. Stuns me that The Birds isn't their favorite movie, and they weren't allowed to watch the Twilight Zone or Dark Shadows as children. Or Creature Features! One is a couple years older than me, one is 9 years younger. And in the other room are a 24 year old and a 39 year old. The 24 year old is coming out of her shell. I pretty much made her talk to me, she was a trifle shy. The other day I had a slow time, so I was taking a quiz on Facebook. One of the questions was "Do you like change?" She asked me what question I was on, and I told her. She then inquired "Do you like change?" and I said "No! I do not!." Then she said . . . oh my gosh cracked me up "I don't either! Once I threw it away." Oh dear. How funny. Then, another day, I made a comment about someone being "harried and harassed" and she asked me what that meant. It did not occur to me until later that I could have told her anything I wanted and had a bit of fun. I'm slipping I guess. And when I asked her what the young people were going to be doing this weekend and she mentioned the bar, I was horrified by the price of beer these days, just like Bernie used to be on the non .50 beer days. It is nice to be amused at work lol. I used to be the oldest, but now I'm the junior senior. 

I was also John's guest at the Sunday Brunch over at Gaetano's Vault in Streator. It was outstanding. Breakfast food, dinner food, desserts, drinks. Wow. I had this St. Paddy's Punch, vodka, OJ and Blue Curacao . . . with sprinkles. Then I had some boozey coffee with my dessert. With whipped cream. I should have camping coffee every day. And bananas foster french toast. I didn't get a pic of the lunch type food. There was an omelet station too, but I can't eat everything. It was fun to see some of my favorite co-workers of John's too. We got to sit together. Good fun. That pistachio cake too, wow. 

Speaking of cake I'm about to go frost Joe's birthday cake, he is 62 today. Crazy. How did we get so old? We will have his favorite pizza tonight, we all love it, and Mom is looking forward to it.

My car acted up for a while, the back door wouldn't open. I was just dealing with it and then, one day, when I unlocked the car it sounded different somehow, and boom, the backdoor would open again. I had inquired at the garage about getting it fixed, but it was an ungodly amount. Recently I looked at the new car inventory in Ottawa and, while I thought I was discreet, somehow my car found out. Now the back door and the rear passenger door won't open. Ugh. We'll see how long this little snit lasts.  

And Happy New Year! I see I totally missed January, probably no news to report. And that is fine, around here no news is good news!

Kay ☘

Ho Ho Ho

Misty-she carried on the fine feline tradition of molesting my smiley face Santa, then chilled with me and watched The Food Network . 

Giselle (Gigi)

When your mother has occasionally been hallucinating a black kitten for a couple of years what should you do? Take a ride to Mazon to Just Animals and adopt two black kitties! LOL Introducing Giselle and Misty! Giselle is 2 and Misty is 3. I love them and I really think that I am growing on them. I didn't purposely go to pick 2 black ones. The nice girl at the shelter told me Misty was one of her faves, and when I picked her up she immediately charmed me. I'm so easy. I said I'll take her! Then I asked if they had another kitty they thought would get along well with Misty and they suggested Giselle. She charmed me too and that was that. 

When I was checking out it was noticed that Giselle was due for her rabies shot, so they set up an appointment for their next clinic. The whole adoption thing was a blur and happened really fast. Yes, I am making excuses for not being sure which black cat was Giselle and which black cat was Misty. After a musical ride home I brought the kitties in, took them in carriers to introduce them to Mom, released them, then 2 cats disappeared immediately. Who would think in this little house you couldn't find a cat, wow. The next day Misty came out, and was immediately lovable. Still no sign of Giselle. I was afraid she had somehow gotten out. Well she finally turned up and wow what a relief. I had no idea there was a space for a cat to hide in the back of my stove. Or in the recliner there is this little shelf. Wow. So I didn't get to touch Giselle for a couple weeks, boy is she quick. She'd let you get close, but no sudden moves or she was off like a shot. So the day comes for her rabies shot and there is a lot of suspense. Can I catch a cat? OMG it was a fiasco. 60 year old slow fat woman vs. 6 pound cat. I think you can guess how that will go. Well it was worse. Lots of sweating and cursing ensued. Poor kitty. Finally the terrified cat goes in bathroom and cowers behind toilet and I get to catch her. Another complication . . . I think I know which cat is Giselle and which cat is Misty, but I'm not sure, so I have to take both cats just in case I don't have the right cat with me. Oh dear, the people at the shelter tried not to laugh too hard, but I can't blame them. It was very embarrassing. They are so nice over there it was fine that they laughed at me. Hard. But I did have the right cat! Whew. Poor Misty waited in the car. 

There was a mix up with our appointment so I was waiting with Gigi, at least I had my fingers crossed, (I didn't officially change their shelter names, but Giselle gets shortened to Gigi quite often) and wow what a parade of cats and dogs that came by, it was fun to see the owners and their dogs and cats and hear their stories. If you have to have a little wait that is a great place to do it. Everyone was very friendly and nice to the disheveled, sweaty, exhausted woman waiting on a bench who confessed that she didn't even know if she brought in the right black cat. It helps to have a good sense of humor if you are me. Anyway rabies shot accomplished and things are going better now. Giselle lets me catch her more often now. Both kitties are nice mix of sweet and sassy, and I'm tickled to see Misty settle on mom's bed with her more and more often. I'm sure she likes Mom  . . . and her heated mattress pad too.

Speaking of Mom, her home health care nurse talked to me about switching over to hospice because mom had been complaining of some pain. She just said she hurt all over. I agreed and hospice had already done an evaluation so it was a quick transition. First day the nurse comes she arranges for some pain medication for mom and wow it helped right away. And it was delivered to the house, no more pharmacy line at Wal mart. Mom took the pain pills for a few days and started feeling better. She started sleeping better and glory be, she is in a better mood, sleeping better and her appetite is great. Such a gift to have an upswing in the way she is feeling, especially this time of year. About the same time her hospital bed had ceased to function, it got stuck with the head fully elevated, so she had been back in her old bed, just flat all the time, which is rough for her and for caregivers too. So between the pain pills and getting the hospital bed repaired (motor went out), things are much better. The house was chaos with an extra bed in her room and her not feeling good, so getting things restored to order and mom feeling better is wonderful. 

Very glad John made it home from his Peru trip and is not one of the stranded tourists I have been reading about in the news. Unfortunate about the pulled muscle, the food poisoning, the weird bites, and the altitude sickness, but he did see Machu Picchu! 

This weather is awful! My boss let us out at noon on Thursday and I don't go back to work until Tuesday, so a nice break. 

I picked up a nice rib roast for Christmas. I hope I don't screw it up. I am making some horseradish cream sauce to go with it, so how bad can that be? There will be bread and potatoes and a veggie so yum. And pecan cream pie, curious to see how that turns out too. 

I hope everyone is well and Merry Christmas to all. Here is to a good 2023!

Kay 🎄

October

Hera and Isis getting cozy. Good thing that bed expands. Until Isis went to squeeze in it looked like Hera was filling it up herself. I was surprised today when John told me he was thinking about turning on his heat to take the chill off this a.m. Usually heat is a hard no for him until November. The kitties have been sitting by the silent, cold heat vents already. I got the heated throw out for them Friday when I went to John's house. 

The guy is supposed to come check our furnace tomorrow. I had picked up a space heater a couple years ago when the furnace was acting up, but never opened the box. Well, it has come in handy because mom gets cold. It has been nice keeping her toasty and not dying of heat myself. 

Anyway, I had taken my car in Friday for an oil change, also had a headlight out. Was waiting and got called back pretty quick, uh oh. Not good, not my first car. The nice girl there showed me a photo of some pink cotton candy under my hood. Oh wait, not candy, leaking coolant, hose problems. The mechanic poured in some coolant and it came right out. I guess I was lucky not to have encountered difficulties. Anyway who gives someone a free loaner for their 12 year old Toyota Rav 4? Bill Walsh Toyota, that's who! How nice is that. And yes, I will likely buy a new car there . . . some day lol. Parts will be in the end of the week. 

My loaner, a 2022 White Toyota Avalon is very fancy pants. Very. It is also a lot lower then my little SUV. It would be fine with me if no one sees me getting in or out of it. Ever. The car even tries to help me, moving the seat back and raising me up a bit, which was surprising when you are not expecting your car to move you around when you shut it off. Nice try car. When I first saw it I said oh no. The girl was surprised, asked me what was wrong. I asked her if she didn't have some old piece of crap to loan me so I did not get the New Car Fever. She did not. 

I felt like Bernie in 1984 when he was too nervous to drive home his new 1984 Chevy Citation  (The Ci --- who got The Ci and who got the Nova, that was the question in the 80s at the Mallaney household) from Joliet and I had to go with him to pick it up and drive it home. I do not buy fancy pants cars. I guess I have some of The Bernie in me (cheap!). Once I figured out how to start it (pushing the button), I was off. I got the radio on after a while. I adjusted the seat and the lumbar dohickey for my comfort. I'm sure that camera is very nice, but it is hard to see while I'm turned around, backing out. I saw the button for the heated seat this a.m. once I figured out blue is cold and red is warm it was a lot nicer.

Mom is no longer Crab Ass Bitch, praise Jesus. She is in a good mood, food tastes good again, everything is delicious. She is agreeable. Whew. I think maybe the maintenance antibiotic for the UTI prevention is helping. Since  mom is having a good spell I have had some outings. 

I guess John and I were lucky we did not encounter any mechanical difficulties when we went to the Dane County Farmer's Market last weekend. It is always a fun trip. We stopped in Roscoe at Sophia's Family Restaurant on the way. I highly recommend it. All the waitresses seemingly have been working there forever, I love places like that. The waitress got a big tip from me after telling me I was charming with a good sense of humor. I mean I already knew that, but it is always nice to hear. I had no trouble ordering, Irish Skillet anyone? The waitress told me it was very good and that it is better if you swap out the tomatoes for green pepper, tomatoes just do not go. So of course I did that. She nodded her head approvingly when I ordered my eggs over medium and rye toast, so I knew I had done the right thing. John surprised me by not ordering immediately, the waitress had to come back. I mean that is just weird. Then he orders honey mustard chicken breast. What? That is just weird for him. Waitress asks him what side he wants, and he thinks about it (that is weird too), and then orders hash browns. Who is this person? Then a lady got the Heimlich Maneuver. She seemed fine after, enjoying her meal. John was watching and he was not at all sure this lady needed the maneuver. All this time this guy who is right in my line of sight is staring at me, I mean I tried to look away, but he is right there. He keeps looking at me. I'm not in his line of sight, he  has to turn his head. He is eating with his wife. John gets up to go to the bathroom and here comes this man over to me. He says "How are things in Florida!?" and Kay is thinking what the hell this is Illinois sir, and I just sit there with my wtf wide-eyed confused smile? Then he cracks up and tells me I look just like his sister who lives in Florida! Oh boy. Then he shows me a photo of her and gosh my first thought was gosh I look better than I thought! So that is good for a laugh gosh. Then our food comes, and you know how some places do it, John gets this huge platter with his chicken breast, another plate with hash browns, and a little bowl of corn. He tastes the chicken and seemingly approves. Cuts it all up, then dumps his hash browns on there. I'm watching this bemusedly, understanding the combining of foods, we get that from Mom. Then I see this lady across the aisle watching him too. She is smiling. Then John looks at his plate, and decides to dump the corn on. Now the lady across the aisle is laughing. I'm watching too, meanwhile I'm ketchuping and peppering my hash and eggs. John tosses all this food together, then has a moment of thought, then puts ketchup on the whole thing. Now the lady is a little wide eyed and I'm cracking up. John, in his own little world, contemplates his plate and then puts on a liberal amount of hot sauce. I thought the lady was gonna lose it then. LOLOL  It just seemed right that I offer him some rye toast to go with his concoction. He appeared to enjoy it and our neighbor enjoyed the show as well. That was fun. My skillet was delicious. Corned beef in the morning is always good.

Got together with some old friends, had fun, drank beer, laughed, yada yada yada finally got Covid with one of my other chums. Two of the others had just gotten over it and the other works at hospital checking people in, she was fine! Very mild case for my well vaccinated self, and somehow Mom and Joe didn't get it. Worked from home for a few days.

Mom's 85th is coming up in November.  

I must go put on a roast for Sunday dinner. Cool weather calls for Sunday roast and mashed taters. 

Best to all, and Happy Fall!

Kay