Demented People Are Trying

Very Trying Indeed!

So this morning mom calls at 7 a.m.  Being a household that runs more on a 2nd shift schedule, I didn't pick up the phone before the machine got it.  It was mom, "Uh, when are you going to come and pick us up?"  Wondering what her furry damaged brain was up to this morning, I called her back as quickly as I could, (before she had the chance to forget why she called.)

"Mom, where am I supposed to take you today?  You don't have any appointments."

"Well, aren't we going to church?"

"NO, because it is Tuesday, and nobody will be there.  Is that all?  Ok, I'll be by a bit later to give you your meds and shot.  Bye."

(Went back to bed and caught up on a little bit of sleep.)

Then she called again at 10:00, and you guessed it she thought it was Sunday again.  She's back at home after being released from the rehab place.  I now have Power of Attorney for her.  Stepfather & mom's car has been disabled (a decision made by stepbrother & myself), so that they can't go anywhere on their own anymore.  It probably won't be long before stepfather will be declared incapacitated and stepbrother gets P.O.A. for him.  Somewhere in the busy schedule of taking care of them, I need to shop around for an assisted living facility that will meet their needs without making them go broke too quickly.  If the cafeteria food at the rehab place is any indication, what institutions consider a diabetic friendly diet and what actually is a diabetic friendly diet are drastically different.  And that is only one of their rather particular needs.

Just a Reminder

SNOW

is a four letter word.

And yes in the last two days,

it has been used in the context of a cuss word.

Our driveway and sidewalks are finally clear.

Mom's driveway is clear.

(Thanks dad for letting me borrow the truck to transport the snowblower!)

The highway patrol actually closed stretches of I-41.

The city had parking restrictions in place most of the day yesterday.

There are still some places in town where the right turn lane arrows end in snowbanks, because the plows need to make another pass to find the edge of the streets.

After an unseasonably warm fall and early winter free of snow,

it finally did snow.

We went from no snow, "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas." to

"Where are we going to put all this stuff?"

in 24 hours.

Maybe I will get around to taking pictures,

after I finish shoveling out the front walk and the drainage ditch around the garage.  The stuff drifted into solid mounds that is immune to plastic shovels, so the old metal shovel is getting used quite a lot.  After several repetitions, it gets a bit heavy.  The way it cuts into a snowbank makes me wonder if shovel throwing could be a new track and field sport, a very dangerous one at that.

I'm pretty sure you know what snow looks like by now.

If you have any doubts, look at posts from previous years.

Right now, it just isn't pretty to me at all.

I Spied

a colon.

and not this kind:

Mom had her colonoscopy today, they even gave her a picture.  Not sure if it was the before or after shot.  Yay, next time she will be over the age limit, so this was her very last one!

I need a nap.  Yesterday was quite long with getting her prepped for the procedure.  And today started very early.  There wasn't much time for sleep in between.

Oh, and Chloe made sleeping the previous night rather difficult, because we had a thunderstorm - yes, a thunderstorm in December. Silly chicken dog.  It has been raining quite heavily for at least a day.  I have sort of lost track, but am very thankful that it isn't snow.  Nap time now.

Does Anybody Need a

Curling Iron?

As a follow up to the "Drat" post, I did find a new hairdryer that only pulls 1600W at Sally Beauty Supply.  The only hitch was they threw in a curling iron for free.  The thing is, I don't generally use a curling iron.  I'm lucky and happy enough when my hair is clean and dry.  Curling it usually just makes things worse rather than better, because it makes the split ends appear faster.  Then I have to pay for another haircut that much sooner.

So, does anybody out there want a curling iron?

Come to the Couch Side

"Mom,

Really, it's your day off."

"Chloe,

Is the couch side anything like the dark side?"

"Mom, yes it is a little bit like the dark side, only warmer, fuzzier, and with better company. Look into my eyes; you are getting less and less interested in putting insulation in the attic."

A Day of Freedom

Yay-sort of!  Stepbrother is taking care of stepfather duties today.  Mom is still at the rehab place.  We hope her insurance will continue to cover her stay there until after the colonoscopy scheduled for early next week.  Yippee, for today, I don't have to go anywhere unless I actually want to.  Although I would like to plop down on the living room couch and do a DVD marathon, there are many chores that have been neglected.  So after a bit of a late lunch, it will be necessary to don the almost dead jeans, one or two long sleeved shirts and sweatshirt, old boots, gloves, hat, and dust mask, tromp up the attic stairs and re-insulate a few spots.  See, fixing that one electrical circuit this spring required a bit of digging below the attic floor, and I have been a bit lax about putting it back together.  It has been an unseasonably warm fall, thanks to El Nino, but winter will rear its ugly head soon, and frost on the kitchen ceiling is rather undesirable.  Fun, fun, fun, but with no T-birds in sight.

Drat

The hair dryer died this morning.  It managed to shrink the window insulator kits alright, but gave up the ghost when I actually used it for the intended purpose.  Looking up possible replacements, it appears that the new trend in hairdryers is to make them consume more electricity.  The newer models at peak output pull 1875 watts.  Let's see.  1875W/120V=15.625Amps.  Gee, that is 0.625Amps > than the 15 Amp rating on the breaker currently servicing the bathroom in this old house.  (Not even taking into account anything else that might also be running on that circuit.)  Hair dryer manufacturer's must assume that everyone has brand new houses with a 20Amp dedicated circuit for the bathroom.  Guess what, not everyone has a new house.  It appears that the 1600W models have fallen out of fashion.  They can still be found, but aren't nice and cheap anymore.  Also, I wonder what effect the new "ionic" models will have on window insulator kits?  Will the ions degrade the plastic, or just give it one nasty case of static cling?