Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #42 – Details and More Details, & Some Really Good Family Time

  

Tuesday, May 26^th, 2020……  Tough night for me last night. Rylee helped but she looks as sad as the rest of us. It’s amazing how dogs are. She slept on Lydia’s side of the bed as if she was holding her spot.

I worked a bit this morning on Lydia’s checking account. I have her bill pay process down now but wanted to double check and see that everything is up to date because she paid everything last week from her phone from the hospital but I needed to log it into the checkbook. I will be changing things as time goes on but for now this works. Hospice called me today to check in to see how I was doing. With everyone here, I am doing ok. I go to the mortuary tomorrow. Being me, you probably already know what I’m about to say. I have been thinking about all of this for a long time (in my head - didn’t make any notes) about all of the things I would need to do. I know I will miss something. Last night we went through her meds. I didn’t count but there were tons of them! The hospice folks took what they brought and we will be taking the rest to the police department for their disposal bin. I have to wait until I get copies of the death certificate before I can start to work on the required notifications, but I need to cancel her auto refill prescriptions today. Lots more to do but all I have is time. 

The girls started in today on the closet and the clothes and purses in there. They both filled bags and also pulled some out that Maryanne and Krista and the grandkids might like. Everything else went back on the shelves and racks for now. I am ok with everyone getting what they might like, but I don’t think I am ready yet for bare racks and shelves. The boys pulled out the 4 crates of photos and framed pictures. We barely got through one box!  It was good for me to do that – and helped trigger some great times. Penny and Maryanne found a bag of Grandma’s costume jewelry and spent time sorting and bagging these for a future yard sale. We ordered and picked up pizza for dinner.  Long day!

Wednesday, May 27^th, 2020……  I had my meeting with the Funeral Home this morning. Since I plan to have a celebration of life in SoCal later this year, all I needed to do at this time was pick out an urn. I owe them an obituary article for the local newspaper, which will let the locals know she has passed.

Then it was time to take a drive!  Randy had told me about his ride last year up to the Blue Pool, which is up in the cascades. We had the girls change their shoes and we loaded up in the Acadia and headed up. It was a beautiful day and the drive was nice. We parked and hit the 2.2-mile trail. Randy rode this on his mountain bike and said it was ok and he only had to get off his bike for short periods when it was too steep to ride.  Yeah right! The first part was easy and then we hit the rocky craggy path that wasn’t too bad but harder than some wanted! 

But I think the walk was worth it! Check out this beautiful place. It really is that blue!

There were some brave souls who hiked down the trail and got into the freezing water. You can see some of them on the rocks because they couldn’t stay in the water at all.  Not us! We were content to watch. While walking in, I talked to a redneck dude who was walking out. He said he jumped from the rocks (maybe 60 feet) into the water. He said it was cold but was really upset because he lost his phone. He said the 35 ft. deep pool made it impossible to dive down to get it back. Duuhh!  Once we got back to the car, we finished out the loop and ended up in Eugene and chose The Roadhouse for dinner before heading home after an exciting day.            

     

Thursday, May 28^th, 2020……  Jeff headed up to another Harley Davidson store, this one in Tigard, and Randy and I worked on cleaning up the fallen tree that is blocking the ‘west 40’. I should say Randy worked because all I did was mow the high grass around it so he could get in there with the chain saw. He made pretty quick work of everything and was done. Now Chuck can come in and mow next week. Meanwhile, the girls worked on cleaning up the clothes in the dressers and then started in on the motorhome. I am ok with it being cleaned out and they made quick work of getting her things out so they could go through it all. I have tons of clothes, hats, shoes, and sandals that I always leave in there, but Lydia always brought all of her items out each time so there wasn’t much there. She did keep her visor collection which you can see here. One in every color!

I heated up pizza for lunch and hung around the house, waiting for the medical equipment to be picked up this afternoon. I sent in an obituary to the funeral home to be used in the local paper.  

Friday, May 29^th, 2020……  We all headed off to Elmer’s in Albany for breakfast this morning. Randy and Frances were heading back to Calif. from there. They were a huge help in all of this, especially for me, and I’m so glad everyone made it here in time to say their goodbyes.

After we got home, Penny went home to clean house and rest for the day. Jeff and I took off and drove to Eugene to go to Cabela’s. I took him the back way through the farmlands and ranches and woods. We had a nice drive. When we got home, I took a shot at round two of the photo collection. I have four full plastic crates of pics but then I remembered all of the albums in our cabinet in the bedroom. Wow, this will take a while! I only managed to get through one. Sis came by with dinner from Dos Arbolitos and after a bit she went home and I stopped to rest and watch tv until bedtime.        

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #41 – Heaven Calls Another Angel Home

                                                                                    

Monday, May 25^th, 2020…… Happy Memorial Day!   We don’t know them all but we owe them all!  

Today, was pretty much like yesterday. She is starting to show signs of swelling, but still looks calm and rested although breathing looks to a bit more labored. We ate breakfast and then Randy and Jeff climbed up on the potting shed section of the workshop roof and started to work on the skylights up there. They have loosened up a bit from the summer heat and the glass has slipped down in the fixture, allowing water to get in. They took everything apart and reassembled and all is fixed now. Thanks, guys! Frances and Penny came over and we spent the day goofing around, each taking a few minutes to go sit with Lydia and talk to her. I don’t know for sure, but I believe she can hear us. I have turned on the tv to her Hallmark station mostly for background noise. I think that is good for her to have so many of us in and out during the day. Of course, we are giving her longer periods to sleep quietly. With Frances and Penny here, we were able to take off for a bit so I drove them over to the local motocross track in Albany. I had never been but found it pretty easily. It was packed with folks spending the holiday out riding and enjoying the day. Nice to see. I will have to go back again sometime. We stopped on the way home at Terri’s salon and saw her trash dumpster was empty so Jeff and Randy took four bags of grass clippings there to dump. She said, “Just don’t fill it up”, so I only took four.  Later, Jeff bbq’d the steak meat and came in and sliced it up and had everyone build up their tacos. We sat down and had a very nice meal. 

I think we each went in to check on Lydia, with Jeff going last to check on his mom. He noticed she didn't have breaths and came out to have Frances go in. Randy, Sis and I followed. She found Lydia had passed quietly and in her sleep. She looked relaxed and didn’t have any pain or discomfort all the way to the end. I thank the Lord for that. God gave me an angel in my life. After just short of 52 years of wedded bliss, God had a greater need for that angel and called her home to heaven today. While it feels like the wheels have come off, your thoughts and prayers for us and our family have truly helped me get back moving again. Thank you from the whole family for being there for us. We love you all.

Just so you know, I am planning on cremation here and will be working on plans for a Celebration of Life sometime after summer back down in California, where friends and family are located.

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #40 – Family is Here Now

                                                                                      

Friday, May 22^nd, 2020…… Randy started his drive up this morning. Lydia is comfortable in her bed. Hospice brought her a nebulizer to help her breathing and lorazepam for anxiety and olanzapine for nausea. She can get morphine, squirted under her tongue, to help her relax. The nebulizer has been used every four hours and so far, she has had two morphine treatments and one lorazepam. Her breathing is very calm and she says she is comfortable. She has been watching tv and sleeping, kind of back and forth. If you know her, she nods off quite often! But, toward the evening, she started sleeping a lot and had less movements. I know the meds are working and helping. I had called Teri, who cuts our hair, and asked to get in for a haircut. She was sad to hear about Lydia and would like to see her if possible. I said Lydia would very much like to see her so she came during her lunch break and they visited for a bit. Lydia isn’t really talking much now but it was kind of nice to at least have someone to talk to her. Randy will be staying the night in Medford and will make the last drive tomorrow morning.

Saturday, May 23^rd, 2020……  Randy got here around 11:00am this morning. He spent some quality time with his Mom, which they both needed. They had previously sent up a mother's day delivery (flowers and candles) and I left them for him to give to her. Later, Penny, Randy and I, with Frances on the phone coaching us, did a lavage on both of Lydia’s ears. She gets a waxy buildup and, from time to time, needs this done, usually by Frances. Since she wasn’t here yet, we decided to do it with her phone guidance. With the syringe squirter and the bowls and the towels it probably was a sight to see!  I wish we had taken a video. It was so hilarious! But we did ok and she says that helped a lot.

Later in the evening, I headed up to PDX to get Jeff. His flight came in at 9:30pm. Meanwhile, Randy set up the new Mary Poppins movie and settled in on our bed to watch it with mom. She really has no energy and drifted off to sleep. Jeff and I stopped on the way home to get him something to eat and we got there about 11:30. But things are moving pretty quickly now. She is now barely able to move and responds only with her eyes and she nods instead of speaking. She hasn’t had any food and barely sips her water. Jeff stayed with her for a while and then headed off to bed, since his system clock is three hours ahead of us. I was tired and settled in and slept pretty well for a few hours but was up and roaming the house by 3:00am. Nights are the hardest for me. But at least her boys are here now.   

Sunday, May 24^th, 2020……  No change this morning. No medication has been required since she is out pretty much of the time. I am always watching her breathing for respiratory issues – she is breathing smoothly and comfortably with big breaths every so often. I fixed scrambled eggs with mushrooms and cheese for breakfast and Penny came over and joined us. She brought Quincy over and left her to head up to PDX to get Frances, who changed her flight to get here asap. I told the boys I wanted to pick up the grass later today but Jeff was ready now and went out and started up the mower and hooked up the catcher and off he went. That left Randy and I to bag the grass and try to keep up. We three made quick work of it and then we came in and cleaned up and then settled in for the day and visited and watched tv and worked on a few other projects around the house. The girls got back and Lydia acknowledged that Frances was here. At this point, she isn’t moving at all, just sleeping all the time. Breathing is good and relaxed. Jeff brought in his Mother's Day gifts that he had brought with him. Frances and I had a little talk and she clued me in on what to expect to see in the next phase. With no food and water, she will slowly drift off, but her breathing will be shallow and rapid. I think we are all expecting it sooner than later. But right now, she’s still resting comfortably. I tried to move her head to a new position but she let me know she didn’t want that!  Still feisty! Penny went and got KFC for dinner. Jeff had taken a ride to get out for a while and came back with tortillas, refried beans and carne asada to bbq for tacos tomorrow night.     

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #39 – Dealing With the Toilets & Working Through Tough Times

  

Monday, May 18^th, 2020…… I have begun working on the trailer again. With Lydia not here, I have time and want to do as much as I can before summer gets here. I prepped all of the rollers on the small parts and left them in the shop. I want to look at putting a metal workbench outside so I can do painting and messy projects out there. Most everything I have found so far is wood and expensive. I’m sure I’ll find something. Still rain in the forecast so I wasn’t planning on painting today. Lydia sounded tired when I talked to her today. I know she’s lonely. It’s been 9 days since she’s been there. I sure wish I could do something besides just talking with her each day. But that’s all we’ve got for now. Medical facilities will most likely be the last ones to stay on lockdown due to the risk factors. She is still borderline for dialysis but while she’s there, they want to go ahead with it to help get fluid off of her. She says she weighs 145 lbs right now so I think they have her close to where she won’t need it as long as her creatine stays low enough. She said she was worried about me but I assured her that although I miss her so much, I am hanging in there and I’m doing ok. I’m so glad my sister is close by!   

Tuesday, May 19^th, 2020……  I got up early and walked and fed Rylee and then sis and I headed off to Albany to hit Denny’s for breakfast and then Sherwin Williams to get her some paint samples for her upcoming house painting project, and then on to Costco. I wanted to check on their vacuum cleaners and also their toilets. My plan is to replace the toilet in the shop, which is old and round and has a busted seat cover. But I will buy a new one for the master bedroom and then move that one out to the shop. I found the one-piece unit that I like so much and loaded that on my cart. I also bought a metal shelving unit, which I want to build in two sections and use as a workbench for the area under the eaves of the shop garage. Sis bought two of these units to go on the back wall of her garage. We went there next and unloaded them and just went ahead and built them and installed them while I was there.

We brought the toilet and my shelving home and unloaded those and built out and installed the workbench. Tomorrow I will tackle the toilets. Kirk came today with Carter. They also brought Jody over to help with the weeding project. Together, the three of them made a big dent in one side of the driveway. It sprinkled on them but they kept going. 

Lydia has been doing just ok. No change except the fever is now gone. They are giving her antibiotics to help clean up the pneumonia in her lungs. She said she is still tired and wants to sleep. Given that no one can come visit, there really isn’t much more to do. I get it. I feel bad that she is alone. I fixed a chicken bake for dinner and relaxed and watched tv until time for bed.   

Wednesday, May 20^th, 2020……  This morning I decided to go check on Kevin’s and Shirley Mays to see if either was open for breakfast. Neither was. Bummer. I got my Jack in the Box meal and headed home. I cut open the box the toilet was in and discovered that they had included a wax ring so I was good to go to install it. So, I started in and removed the old toilet and got it out on the front porch and then installed the new one. It went pretty easy and no leaks. I even got Lydia’s raised toilet seat installed on this one too.

Sis came by to help and we got the toilet on the dolly and headed down Lydia’s ramp and around the front yard headed to the shop. But I ran the dolly into a crack and lost control for just a fraction of a second and that was enough for the toilet to slide off and break. It is now trash. I decided to complete the entire project after that and went to Costco again and got another toilet, this one for the guest bathroom. I got back and made quick work of that one. This time I put the toilet on a four-wheel dolly and sis got that out there ok and I lifted it up and got it close by ready to go. The old toilet out there was easy as well but I had to go get a new wax ring before I could continue the install. I got all of that done with no other issues. So, three installs in one day. Whew!

I got a call from Lydia today. The doctor was in with her and they put me on speaker. The doctor told me that he thinks Lydia’s lung issues are not directly related to the chemo meds, but thinks it’s more of a progression of the cancer in her lungs. He said they have done about everything they can to get her comfortable and treat the pneumonia aggressively but with not much improvement. We got really serious into her extended prognosis and where to go from here. He is recommending that Lydia go home to hospice. She just wants to come home and I get that. So, we started that process today. I received three calls from:  the case worker, the hospice office, and also from a medical supply to set up an oxygen maker for the house. All of this will happen tomorrow. It is not the news we wanted but we have come to expect things to go in this direction for some time now. Not a good afternoon but I am looking at Lydia’s outlook and her expressing that she wants to be comfortable and with family. They will start their evaluation tomorrow and release her with the appropriate meds. Her oncology doctor also has to weigh in on home treatment and next steps but Lydia probably won’t want any more chemo since this bout was as bad as the first. But, if it means anything, she came home with these same issues last time and recovered quickly once all of the chemo went out of her system.  We can only hope.

After all of this, I wasn’t hungry but managed to fix some scrambled eggs and mushrooms and had a quiet dinner and watched the second Darlington Nascar race and then made my way to what I knew would be a sleepless night. At least I can be with her tomorrow! That’s something positive!       

     

Thursday, May 21^st, 2020……  I was right about sleeping. It was a tough night. But hey, she gets to come home today! I had Rylee out and walked early, while it wasn’t sprinkling. I got her fed and then did some straightening up around the house. I had washed towels and included those we use on our recliner arms and headrests. I also worked a bit on a vacuum cleaner that my sister got from a yard sale and had in her garage. I paid her the $5.00 she paid for it and it turned out to be a good deal for me!  It works well enough for me to use for the time being until I can get someone out to service the in-house vacuum system.  Then the day changed drastically when I got a call from the hospital saying I should come in asap.  I knew this wasn’t going to be good news.  I dropped everything and left. I went through all of the safety measures and then was escorted up to her room. She looked worn out but I could tell she was happy to finally see me. The doctor came in and told us about her progress. Or lack of. He reiterated that they have done pretty much everything they can do and, as agreed yesterday, the next step was home hospice.  But her oxygen level had dropped and the amount she needed was more than hospice is set up for. That meant that they didn’t want to release her at this time, unless we opted to go to a hospice facility.  So, we waited and after about 5 hours or so the numbers got back to normal and all was back on schedule. But he advised me that her time table was now reduced and she could go in less time – it is now possibly down to weeks. So, I called both boys and they are making plans to get here asap. Lydia kept repeating that 1) “I just want to go home”, and 2) “I want to see my boys”. So, going home would be the best for everyone since none of us would be allowed in a hospice facility. Neither of us wanted that. I ended up staying most of the day and we got the word that our home hospice choice (Lumina) was busy getting everything in order. They needed to arrange an oxygen maker to be delivered and that was enroute from Salem so I went home to be there for that. Meanwhile, they had ordered transport for Lydia and worked on her discharge orders.  We got the oxygen system set up and she arrived an hour or so after that. Charlotte, from Lumina, followed soon after that and got us all settled in and our regimen set. Lydia has now been moved to a comfort status so she has been getting morphine when she has stressful breathing. This type is given by syringe under the tongue or by the cheek and has been very helpful today. I don’t know what tomorrow or the days ahead will be like but I am ready for whatever comes. The boys will be here Saturday and Sunday so I think she will be waiting for them. We are both now happy that she is home and in her own bed and content as it should be.        

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #38 – Household Chores, Phone Visiting, and Nascar is Racing Again!

Thursday, May 14^th, 2020…… Today started out good. After walking Rylee in the sprinkles, I fixed myself some bacon and eggs for breakfast, watched the rest of Survivor (happy with the result), and then called Lydia. She sounds 100% better today. They said she is recovering from the pneumonia slowly but she says she feels good and her voice is not labored like yesterday. Good day so far…

Today was laundry day. I was given another set of guidelines for Lydia’s ‘delicates’ and applied that process today on her stuff. No worries. Got it. I also finished up vacuuming. Yesterday I did the hardwood floors and today it was the carpets. Before Lois moved out of state, she gave me a nifty stick vacuum that I have found makes quick work of getting all of Rylee’s ‘fuzz balls’ sucked up off the hardwood easily. Today, I got the Dyson out and did the bedroom carpets. Meanwhile, I am looking at a new Shark Navigator or Rotator vacuum so I can retire the old Dyson. I still need to get the whole-house vacuum system serviced but that is not a priority.

Today, Governor Kate Brown held a press conference where she released all but three counties in Oregon to go to phase one of the normalcy process to begin to re-open Oregon. Our counties are now allowed to open restaurants and hair and nail salons, and such, provided the appropriate screening and distancing protocols are followed. My favorite place is Kevin’s, where there are only 9-10 booths/tables and a small counter in the 8’x20’ eating area. I don’t see how they will be able to make any money if they can only operate half of that!  But I will go by and see.

Friday, May 15^th, 2020……  I got up early and got Rylee out and walked. Today was supposed to be sunny and nice – we are in between storm cells. Then I headed off to Jack in the Box and got my breakfast burrito and mello yellow drink. I got back home and ate and then called Lydia. She didn’t answer. I called my sister because today she and I had decided to make a Lowe’s run. I needed spray primer for my trailer and carbon monoxide plug-ins for the house, and she needed to get some 1x6’s for her patio posts. She dropped off Quincy here and we went back to her place and took 4 bags of grass clippings for her bin. I checked the style of wood we needed (rough cut cedar) and then got a call from Lydia. She said she had doctors in and was busy with them when I called. She is having a difficult time with the latest chemo pill, which has kicked in fully now. She has flu-like symptoms, a fever, mouth sores, diarrhea, and she’s always tired. In short – miserable. I sure wish I could be there with her right now!  She will be going to dialysis again today. That, along with Lasix, is what they are doing to try to get more fluids off her.  We left Penny’s and headed off to Albany to Lowes. Her friend Janice is now working there but was in the garden area so we did our own shopping and got everything bought and loaded and then drove over to that side and visited with her a bit before heading back home. Sis had a pulled muscle in her back and wasn’t wanting to do any work today on the posts, so we just dropped them off and headed back for her to get Quincy. She went home and I went out to prime the trailer. Funny, with the primer and fender paint, plus the bedliner coating paint, I will be close to what I spent to buy the trailer in the first place! But it needs to be done and is still a bargain. I got my project completed and came in and cleaned up. I also got another pair of shoes today in the mail. I have found the most comfortable tennis shoes at the best price! These I found online for $18.59 including shipping! True, they are not great quality and come from China (I spray them with Lysol immediately just to feel safe), but they are super lightweight and fit me well. I now have black, brown, gray, and white.

I wanted to get as many as I could before they go away! Oh wow, I just looked them up and they are now $28.00 and most sizes are out of stock. Good for me!  I finished up the day making bacon sandwiches for dinner. I have a large double-pack from Costco and thawed out half so I want to eat them up asap. Thick cut and delicious! They make excellent sandwiches. I called Lydia again to check to see if her spirits were better. They were. We discussed a lot on this call. I worry about her and she worries about how I’m doing. I think I made her feel better, at least for now. Then it was tv programs until bedtime.  

Saturday, May 16^th, 2020……  Not much happening today. I ate breakfast in and stayed in most of the day, except to walk/run the butthead. I still had some vacuuming to complete so I did that this morning. The rains are coming so I can’t do much work on the trailer.  I can and did go in to the shop and got out those accompanying parts that I had previously disassembled and prepped them for primer. But I want to paint these outside and will do that another time. The rains did come later. I ended up staying in most of the day but did go out to pick up dinner. Tonight, was bbq from J & C BBQ, which I called in. I ordered the pulled pork with pit beans and coleslaw, all of which are really good. Then it was more relaxing and tv until I got sleepy and went to bed.

     

Sunday, May 17^th, 2020……  Nothing on the agenda today. After our walk, and a visit with my neighbor Lou, I made a run to Walmart. I wanted to pick up a few things and mostly wanted mushrooms for an omelet for breakfast. I got everything out and got the eggs cooking and realized that I wanted to sauté the mushrooms first so I left them out. Oh well, tomorrow I can do them. I waited until about 11:15am or so to call Lydia. She said she was asleep yesterday when I called her at 10:00am. She hasn’t been sleeping all that well lately so I wanted to wait. She said she did sleep ok last night but still was having issues with everything. She still has a fever (101º) that she can’t shake. I know she’s miserable. She said they will be doing some kind of pulmonary test on her tomorrow. After a bit I said goodbye so she could rest (after she did another bit of business). I hung around the house because it was live Nascar racing today! I had it taped but watched it just after it started. It was interesting to see them all wearing their masks before the race. They limited the number of support team members in order to keep everyone safe. No grandstand attendees either. I think the sporting world was watching because this is the first of its kind to get going again and they can learn from Nascar and hopefully successfully open their particular sports again.

I fixed the last of my bacon for sandwiches for lunch and so I wasn’t hungry when dinner time came around. I had some cheese and crackers and called it good. I finished up doing some work on my checkbook and then watched taped programs until bedtime.  

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #37 – No Visiting Yet & Spring Has Sprung!

Sunday, May 10^th, 2020…… Happy Mother’s Day!  Turns it not so much for Lydia. She is isolated from me for now. She does not have her phone charger so she is checking to see if I can bring it to her. Meanwhile, I have her room phone number if I need that.  They still say that tomorrow they should be able to allow in visitors as our Governor has a plan in place to reduce restrictions starting this Monday, and that would be on the list. Both kids know where she is so no shock when they call her today. She says she is feeling ok, just weak. She still has a fever and is a fall risk so she’s back on a bedpan for now. She is resting today and trying to recover. I am glad she has the care that I can’t give her for this.

Meanwhile, I hadn’t planned on working on the yard today to pick up the grass but the weather is now showing rain later this evening and my window is closing.  So, I headed out and got that job done and the grass piled up. Sis came over and got it all bagged up. Since the lawn was not super long, we only had 12 bags this time and she made quick work of it.

I rested after that and hung around the house for the rest of the day. Dinner was leftover pizza.      

Monday, May 11^th, 2020……  Still no visitors allowed in hospitals here in Oregon. So, I took off and drove there and dropped off her phone charger at the front desk. I called her to let her know that I was there and to expect it to be brought up. She is doing just ok, with pneumonia found in her right lung. We’re still not sure how she got it, but irregardless, she is in good hands there in dealing with it. She is tired and winded and hasn’t had much sleep. They have her on fall risk alert because she is very weak on her legs.  Meanwhile, me and the butthead are here at home. I walk Rylee and play with her and try to stay busy. The rains aren’t here yet so I took advantage by doing the rest of the sanding on the trailer. I think I got everything that I can reach with the sanding wheel on the grinder. Next, I will have to use a dremel or similar to get into the smaller areas to knock out the rusty spots.  After that, I need to prime everything. Sis came by and took a picture of me working on the trailer and one of Quincy and Rylee “social distancing” in the yard.

I had the rest of the stroganoff for lunch and made ‘wienie rolls’ for dinner. That is a hot dog, with chili and cheese, wrapped up in a flour tortilla. Tasty and different. And easy!  

Tuesday, May 12^th, 2020……  Lydia’s creatinine was back up over 2 yesterday so her kidney doctor has recommended that she go back in for dialysis. She said they did that yesterday. Her doctor has told her this morning that her number is now back just below 2, but to be on the safe side, she will have to go back to twice-a-week for a while at the dialysis center when she gets home. Governor Brown is waiting for requests, by county, to be allowed to re-open and both Linn (our county) and Benton (Corvallis) counties are among those requesting. There is a list of requirements to be met before anything is granted. Slow but safe. I get it.  

Kirk and his helper, Carter, came by today. I have asked him to double up their hours for a while so they can really get into weeding. My flowerbeds have taken off with the spring weather now here! Also, the weeds match that growth as well and are overwhelming everything else!  They need some attention asap. Funny, when I was outside working, it was overcast but still nice and dry. I talked to Kirk and then told him he had a dry day today. Oops, I jinxed it!  The skies opened up and it poured for about 3 minutes. Kirk ran to the shop and Carter hid under a tree out in the field. But, like I said, it only lasted a short time and then they were back at it again. My bad!

With the shutdown, we have been ordering online like crazy. I have decided to add dvd players to the tvs in each room and we needed 2 more. Those came today from BestBuy.com and I got them installed. Lydia also got in some clothes she ordered from Blair. That’s something for her to do when she gets home again.    

Not much else happening. I have received some calls about Lydia and gave them the latest info. Her phone is on and folks can call her. If she feels up to answering, she will definitely talk to you.

I wasn’t too hungry and decided to just put a chicken pot pie in the oven. Turns out it was good timing and hit the spot an hour later. I watched tv and then went to bed. 

     

Wednesday, May 13^th, 2020……  Not much progress for Lydia today. She still has trouble breathing and when she moves around at all, she starts coughing. I feel so bad for her…

Today was a cleaning day for me. Or rather, half a cleaning day for me. I dusted and vacuumed and that was about it. I have some laundry to do but I will probably work on that tomorrow or Friday. Rains are off and on this week. Today, it is sprinkling so not too bad. But that limits my chores to indoors today. I was planning on going out to the flowerbeds and cleaning up the edges of them a bit. There is no transition from the grass to the dirt/bark and the grass is creeping over and becoming ragged.

I need to work on that. But it’s too wet today. Later, I made some tamales for dinner and called Lydia. She will be trying to watch The Masked Singer but I am taping it just in case. I watched it and then part of the Survivor 3-hour finale. On the Masked Singer, I missed out on guessing The Rhino. I wouldn’t know his voice but when Jenny first guessed Barry Zito last week, I agreed based on the clues up til then. I ended up cutting Survivor short as it was getting late and I was tired. So, Rylee and I headed off to bed.    

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #36 – Good News – Bad News…

 

Wednesday, May 6^th, 2020…… I decided to try it again this morning. Cabela’s, I mean. I got everyone taken care of at home, then took off and headed south this time. The Cabela’s in Tualatin is a pretty good size store and I prefer going there over the smaller store in Springfield, but it is only about 40 miles down there, so I said, “What the heck!”  I didn’t expect to find anything there either but was surprised that they had a good boat seat selection. But these guys didn’t have four of my style in stock either, so I decided to just order them online. I got free delivery and a military discount to boot. They say they will ship tomorrow. Today was Lydia’s off day for dialysis and no one was coming from home health so she took it easy (not much else to do anyway!). So, she relaxed and settled in and watched tv most of the morning. Sis had come over this morning with Quincy and then went off to Costco so we gave her one or two items to get for us.  When I got back, I went over to help her hang some flower baskets outside and check out some trim boards on her house that she wants to replace. Once that was done, I came back home and rested. 

One of the things Penny got for us was more stuffed salmon, which we decided to have for dinner tonight. They come four in a pack so I took out two and put the other two in the freezer along with the ones we had from our last trip. Once that was done, we settled in and watched The Masked Singer and Survivor before calling it a night.  I had heard that folks on the internet had figured out that Kitty was Jackie Evancho from the clues. They were right but none of the panel got it right. Us either. She’s sure come a long way from America’s Got Talent ten years ago!  All grown up!       

Thursday, May 7^th, 2020……  It was great sleeping weather for me last night except that it was really bright in our room – even with the shades down! That was because of the Super Moon, aka Flower Moon. Because our skies are really clear up here and there is absolutely no city lights anywhere, we got the full effect!  It looked so close!

As I said, I slept ok. Lydia has experienced some sleeplessness at night due to the Revlimid medication and last night she had trouble falling asleep. She only has Dominique coming today so she will be able to rest for the most part and catch up. I did some window washing on the back porch. I wanted to do the inside of the slider which Rylee slobbers on, plus we had some bird poop on one of the windows even under the back porch cover. We have these swallows here that fly everywhere. I guess their high speed turns allow enough velocity to reach the windows! I also got out the back porch furniture, which had been stowed away for the season.  We are getting some nicer weather these days and Lydia wants to be able to go sit outside when weather permits. I also decided to have a go at sanding the trailer.  I ran out the necessary power from the rv garage and started in. I think I made some good progress and got about 1/3 of it completed. I have already ordered the bedliner paint that I will use to paint/coat the trailer. I have seen others done and I think it’s a good look and will help protect it better. It will be a grey color and I think I will paint the fenders a navy blue, which will match the boat seats.

Lydia asked about dinner and I said I would go pick up something. We chose pizza from James Gang and, after calling it in, I went and did the pickup. I ordered salad but the girl there said she didn’t feel right about the lettuce, and we were glad she was conscientious about that and did that. After dinner, I worked on some online orders from Walmart. Our insurance gives us each a $50.00 credit per quarter and mails us a catalog from Walmart allowing us to order necessary health-related items (i.e. pain meds, first aid, vitamins, tooth care products, etc.), up to the $50.00 limit. That includes free shipping. I had placed my order yesterday and needed to help Lydia choose things, totaling $50.00, to put on her order.  We got that done and sent off and then each of us watched our own taped shows until bedtime.           

Friday, May 8^th, 2020……  Today was Lydia’s day two of the now twice-weekly dialysis. The doctor wanted her in to come in a little early to meet with him today. I got her dropped off in time and headed back home.  About fifteen minutes later I got a text to come back and get her. They had told her that her creatinine number was now down below 2 and, for now, she doesn’t need dialysis. That was thrilling news! She will need to test in two weeks and see if it stays down and if so, she’s good to go.

We got back home and settled in for the day and relaxed and watched tv. Lydia said she was super thirsty but not too hungry. Later, I went out and got us pizza and she ate three slices!   

    

Saturday, May 9^th, 2020……  Lydia had a tough night last night. She said she feels bloated and has some muscle weakness. These are both side effects from the Revlimid pill. When she got up to go to the bathroom, she was struggling and was out of breath. So, this morning, I called her oncologist hot line and a doctor on call called right back and said for us to go to the er asap. I asked him to call ahead to Good Samaritan in Corvallis we wouldn’t have any covid issues. We chose Corvallis because it is a bigger hospital and drove there. Of course, they wouldn’t let me in past the check-in desk. I left and stopped at Peoria Farms and bought a couple of hanging flower baskets for her for Mother’s Day for the front porch and then went home and hung them up.  I called back in a few hours. They said she has pneumonia and they would be admitting her. Again, I can’t go be with her at this time, but they did say they were expecting the restrictions for visitors to be changing on Monday if she is still there. So, I mowed the grass, made a light dinner and then watched tv for the rest of the night.  Tough day….     

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #35 – Hanging Around the House & a Trip to the Fishing Store!

 

Saturday, May 2^nd, 2020…… The weather was rainy today and we didn’t have any plans so it was another stay-at-home day!  I walked the dog, made us breakfast, and we watched tv and only did a little straightening up around the house.  Pretty quiet. I heated up leftovers and we finished the quiet day watching more tv before calling it a night.

Sunday, May 3^rd, 2020…… Hey look, another quiet day! But at least this one was nice and sunny!   Lydia has been feeling pretty good, considering the medications have some side effects. But she hasn’t felt any of them so far, which is really good. She’s had a few calls these last few days from her doctor’s offices checking on how she was doing. Jack, from the oncology pharmacy, also called and left a few messages on Lydia’s phone, which was shut off and on the charger. Turns out when we went to unplug it, it wasn’t charged at all!  She evidently didn’t get the plug all the way in, so we had to do it all again. She got it up and running and made most of the call backs and got caught up.  I spent most of the day watching iracing. I’m still not into any of this and only watch to kill the time. I will be glad when all the races are allowed to go back to the real thing!

Tonight, I made us steak burritos. I had found some chunked steak for stew and we tried that. It was just ok. Not exactly what we were expecting!

Monday, May 4^th, 2020……  Lydia’s new dialysis schedule is Mondays and Fridays. Yaaay! So, after fixing her breakfast, she got caught up on with Jack and then got dressed and ready for her trip to Albany. I am looking to go to Cabela’s again and was thinking about going up there today, but decided to go tomorrow instead. We have been doing real good using up our groceries and frozen foods but Lydia is getting a new list together for another market run for me. Not sure when.  We left early and stopped by Walgreens to get some required vitamins which were over-the-counter. When Lydia called to inquire about them, they said they would just hold them for window pickup. I got back from taking her to dialysis and did some work on my monthly bill spreadsheet. Later, after we got home from dialysis, I heated up the chicken noodle soup from our neighbors and Lydia had that. I fixed a couple steak burritos for me. That was dinner. We have been watching a lot of tv and although our shows are over for the season, we still find things to tape and watch. Something to do!

    

Tuesday, May 5^th, 2020……  The weather here has been really nice, in the 70s during the day. No rain in sight for a while they say. I decided that today was a good day to head up to Tualatin to Cabela’s. I was looking for four things this time. I got Lydia’s tea to her, walked Rylee, and then fed her. When I got back, Lydia was up and had already come in and made her own breakfast!  She did say that it was a little harder to get going this morning. One of the side effects of the new med is muscle aches and low energy. She is feeling good and once she was up and moving, most of that went away. I took off, knowing that my sister was coming over later to look in on Lydia and let Rylee out. I made my way up I5 and got there a little after 9:00am. Once in the store, I found out they open early for seniors so I almost had the place to myself! Problem was none of the 4 items I wanted were there. They were either sold out or didn’t have my size.  The boat seats I wanted they had but only two and I needed four and wanted them from the same lot so I passed.  Bummer! I may go south tomorrow to Springfield and try there. It’s a way smaller store so I don’t expect much. But at least I am getting out for a bit! Once I got home, sis was still here and left shortly after. Cherine came by later for Lydia’s OT and so did Kirk and Carter to do yardwork. I had them use the weed whacker out by the fenceline out in the ‘west forty’ that butts up to Rich and Linda’s backyard. He cut it all back and then sprayed it to prevent future weeding. I also had them do the area out by the creek, to the south. We mow that area but can only get so close to the edge and if they can just knock it down once or twice a season, I can do the rest. They will also need to do the area on the other side of creek but they ran out of time and will tackle that next week.  

When I was out shopping last, Lydia had me get all of the stuff for our chicken and rice casserole. That was dinner tonight.  I got that put together and into the oven. It was just ok. We both think I overdid the chicken seasoning this time. Oh well!  We ended up watching our taped shows until bedtime.                

Oregon Living 2020 – Blog #34 – Grass Pickup, Good Medical Reports & Less Dialysis Needed

 

Wednesday, Apr 29^th, 2020…… The weather is cooperating with us again today so I hope later to be able to get out and get the clippings scooped up. But first up is Rylee’s walk and then getting Lydia set up. I fixed us both breakfast and then let Kaitlyn in for Lydia’s evaluation. She needed to go through some of the same tests as they did on the very first meeting to check on Lydia’s progress. Overall, she is doing really well but because she will be most likely feeling effects from the oral meds (round 2B) starting tomorrow, they thought best to extend the sessions for another 30 days, just to be safe.

After Kaitlyn left, I went out and got started on the grass pick up job. I managed to get everything done in less than an hour and then it was time to head over to Albany for Lydia’s dialysis. When I got home, Sis was already there and she was bagging up the grass. Funny, when Kirk and Carter are here and doing their flowerbed weeding, they fill a trash container and then take it out to the woods behind the property and dump it. I could do that too but instead I choose to bag it and dump in the trash container for pickup. I am always asked why I don’t just leave it for lawn mulch. First of all, some of the clippings don’t always get picked up by my tow-behind raking catcher so I have plenty for that. Second, before raking, there is always a ton of grass – more than I want lying out there for butthead to wallow in (and turn green!) and then track into the house! Here’s what it looks like before (Tuesday with the sun out), during, and after running the catcher over it (on Wednesday when it was cloudy).   

Thursday, Apr 30^th, 2020…… We totally stayed at home today. I walked Rylee, made us breakfast, then went out to work a bit on the blueberry enclosure. I took off all of the lower wood border boards. I want to replace all of them and will do so when I can get away to go to the lumber yard. FedEx came today and delivered Lydia’s oral med (this is the round 2B). This is for 14 days. She has to make sure to not contaminate the medication and to safeguard it. No worries – we are only two people and can do that!  She plans on taking it later this evening.

Today was also laundry day. I had Lydia do the sort and I got the five loads going in and out throughout the day. Later, she had me get out everything for a new casserole she was trying today. It takes egg noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, green onions, cooked ground turkey, cheese, tomato sauce, and spices. I cooked the noodles and then the turkey meat and combined all of the ingredients/mixes in layers which all went into the oven. We decided to have just that alone and it was the right choice. I liked it and would only have her add maybe mushrooms next time.

After dinner, Lydia took her medication and we settled in and watched tv and that was about it for the night. I will be closely watching for any side effects which she may get in the next few days. Hopefully, it won’t be extreme.         

Friday, May 1^st, 2020…… Good night’s sleep last night for both of us. So far, Lydia has had no issues. I made us fried egg sandwiches for breakfast and we spent the morning lounging around until it was time to head off to dialysis. We have been watching news from our governor’s office this morning about opening up the state. Looks like she is working on a slower pace and is proceeding with caution so it may take a while. I don’t think America will EVER get back to pre-covid life. I’m betting that all of the sneeze guards in Costco, 7/11, etc. will probably remain in place. I think that restaurants and fast foods will have less tables and maybe every other booth open. I bet they shut down some of the movie theater seats and still have folks maintain the six-foot rule in lines at markets and fast food places. Some of these things will surely make it hard for the smaller businesses to survive. We’ll see. We left a bit later and went on to Albany. While enroute, she got a call from the infusion center that confused her. They said she was getting a different type of medicine for her next scheduled appointment on May 14^th and that they couldn’t do that medication at that center and that she would have to go to Albany Hospital Infusion for that.  ??  So, she called her oncologist’s office and left a message. Janice called her back and said that decision was made by Dr. Olivera and was less invasive to her system, would take less time, and was not as expensive as the infusion (we are still paying copays until we reach our max so maybe they felt guilty).  Janice said she would schedule an appointment with him the day before her shot so he could explain all of it. The Albany center called right after that so we’re all set for that on May 14. More good news – later, Lydia called me while in the dialysis chair and told me the nephrology doctor came in and said her labs were back and that her creatine was getting back to normal so her kidney seems to be functioning again. That’s great news!   For now, he said starting next week, she would only need two days of dialysis instead of three. Maybe it will get better going forward….    

Later, I headed back to get Lydia. I left a little earlier because I needed to get gas in the Honda. I know it's still over $2.00 in Cali. and way cheaper in Ohio for Bill and Treasa but we're happy here too!

On the way back, we got a call from our neighbor, Corie, who said she was bringing over some chicken noodle soup for us. So, we headed right home and waited. Lydia hadn’t had lunch so she grabbed a dill pickle spear from the fridge to help her along. Corie and Paul came by a bit later because Paul wanted to bake us some chocolate chip cookies. We all sat in the living room and talked. Good thing I had lunch today because it took a while. Once they left, we heated up the soup and the rolls they brought and later had the cookies. All were very good and filling. We settled in and watched tv for the rest of the evening. A good day!