(Trying to) Keep Calm and Carry On

It was a pretty quiet week. 

With Spongebob, at the Westlake Library, in the beforetimes

Mr. Ginley continued to make progress with his PT. The visiting nurse said farewell. And Annie, his physical therapist, promised to work with us on getting him in and out of the car. That's the next big thing, and we can't wait until we can get Mr. out of the house for something other than a doctor visit. Maybe a stop at Swenson's and a talk (if not a walk) in the park.

Yesterday, Joe came over and helped Mr. wrap up some of the files on his computer. He carted away several boxes of books for us, thus giving us a little more room to move about the cabin.

Dennis the plumber came about the cracked pipe in the basement. It's related to the downstairs toilet, so I figured they might as well install a bigger, ADA-compliant crapper since they have to take the current one out anyhow. Dennis also suggested we take the door off the bathroom to give Mr. more room to get in there when he's a little more ambulatory. Joe helped me do that yesterday. 

Like every home project, it grows and grows. The pipe is right next to built-in cabinets in the basement, so they'll need to cut into those. Which means I had to remove all the junk we've shoved in there for the 33 years we've been in the house. Paint cans, hazardous waste, dishware, and random appliances. (I'd forgotten all about the yogurt maker, maybe it's time to try it again. I wonder if I still have the instructions somewhere.)

The work will take place next Wednesday. The quote for the work made my heart stop for a few seconds, but needs must. Nothing comes cheap these days. I think the house is feeling its 100-year-old age.

As for me (if anyone is still reading this), I started exercising again this week, and I'm feeling a little better. The knees still protest when I sit for any length of time, but overall, I'm enjoying a little more flexibility, which they say is clutch for us old folk.

I'm also thinking of requesting a Reiki healing session with the woman who was my instructor several years ago. Our lives have been so cattywampus since The Awful Day, I feel like I need an attunement to help get me back on track.

That's about all the news from here. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. 

Hopefully, the smoke will clear soon (Oh, Canada), and we'll all be able to breathe better again.

And yes, I meant that figuratively as well as literally. 

Independence Days

"You're not stacking the dishes properly," Mr. Ginley admonished me the other night. "I showed you the most efficient way to do it, but you're not doing it that way."

at the lake, from the beforetimes

Admittedly, I lost it. I've been doing all the chores since that awful day, including washing the dishes every evening. I figure if I'm the one doing the task, I should be able to do it the way I'm comfortable doing it.

I threw down my sponge and said, "Fine, you stack them then."

Which he proceeded to do.

A truce was called, and it was decided that from now on, I'm going to wash and rinse, and Mr. Ginley will stack the dishes. He'll also dry any oversized items.

It occurred to me that this is part of his recovery, working toward his independence. 

His bigger mission this week was to cull through the hundreds of books in the living room. I've lost track of how much reading material is heading off to new homes. Our son is coming over soon to cherrypick any of the ones he wants before they go to either Half Price Books or one of the libraries for their book sale. (If y'all are in the neighborhood and looking for reading material, feel free to stop by.) 

This week marked another milestone, as Mr. has been out of bed and in his wheelchair the most he's ever been in the last several months. In our new routine, he completes his morning constitutional, has breakfast, and hits the wheels at around 11:00. Then he's up until the dishes are done in the evening, usually around 8:00 or so. 

In addition to going through his books, he sits at the kitchen table and reads, watches the World Cup, or dabbles a little on his computer. His eyesight troubles slow him down but don't stop him.

As for his PT, it seems to be winding down. His therapist is encouraging Mark and me to help him transition to his chair (aka "The Cloud"). We did that yesterday, and it went okay. No spills, no thrills. (That's a good thing.)

Today is spa day, which is nice and relaxing. It's also lawn-cutting day, which is not so relaxing, but needs must. Also, I need to check the blackberries. Hopefully, they haven't all ripened and fallen off yet. Alas, it's been so dry, the last one I tasted wasn't very good. 

Our big decision of the day will be whether we want to continue the tradition of Chinese food for dinner or if we want to try something different.

Do you think Dragon Towers will miss us if we defect to another cuisine?

A Quick Update

Not much new to report this week. Mr. Ginley is spending more time in the chair, and less in bed, which is great. He continues to get stronger at transitioning from bed to chair and back, which is also clutch. And he walked back and forth across the room in his one-and-only PT session this week. 

USDAgov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

Meanwhile, the dreaded "check engine" light came on in my car. Nothing that throwing a few hundred bucks at it didn't solve. The trouble was caused by a squirrel or some other rodent chewing the wires under the hood. I put moth balls under the car and have ordered a solar-powered deterrent system that uses high-frequency sound and strobe lights. We'll see how this goes.

The other snafu this week was Mr. Ginley's bed controller, which became temperamental about raising up his head. It worked, then didn't, then did. A tech came out and installed a new controller, so that's taken care of.

I got my teeth cleaned and my hair cut, each performed by a "Sherrie," both of whom are grandmothers-to-be. What are the odds?

That about wraps up our excitement here. Hope y'all have fun plans this weekend.

Confidential to the robo caller with the 216-998-four last digits that change every time: Please stop calling me three times a day. You can't have my money. Shoo. Shoo. 

*Meet Park Land Rancher Ned Wood. He came up when I was looking for images to use and typed in "electric squirrel." I have no idea why, but I was so tickled and he looks like a nice guy, so I thought, "why not?" Happy 4th, Ned!