j1810

A View From the Field

October, 2018

October 31 - Reformation Day

As I've said before, I do not have any interest in Halloween at all. I think it's dumb. If you don't, that's fine. Today is Reformation Day - the 501st anniversary of the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, and that's much more important than some stupid excuse to wear a costume and make a fool out of one's self. And, by the way, I knew it was stupid at the age of four or five, maybe before. It's so nice to live in a place where I don't have to worry what people think when my porch lights are not on. End of rant.

I was late again, of course, but I got up late, too. I didn't eat my first meal until the middle of the afternoon, because the two rows that I knitted include the one that is really slow to do. I finished the second repeat (out of 8), so I'm making progress, but the number of stitches is increasing by 20 every 6 rows, so it's getting longer and longer. What I think happened is that the designer wanted to make sure that the edges lined up right and looked good and in doing that, she ended up with a very weirdly shaped shawl. It's almost, but not quite, a Faroese shawl. I don't know how I'll block it. By the way, the other Faroese shawl i knitted drives me crazy, because the ends are very long. That shape is not well suited to lace-weight yarn. In heavier yarn, it would be a nice, warm garment, because you can cross the ends over your chest and tie them behind. In lace weight, it's just hard to manage.

The weather was blah. When I got up, there was some sunshine, but it quickly went away and the rest of the day was dark and dull. The high temperature was 46º. The wind was all over the map, from calm to 31 mph gusts from the northwest. It was marginally less humid than it was yesterday, so I felt better.

The guys slept. Louie stayed with me while I knitted and he got his loving. Grayson slept on my lap until I had to go to the bathroom. All of us find this weather boring.

UPS came and got the Wound Vac, I think, and FedEx left a package that is probably some more dressing supplies. It's nice to have the Wound Vac gone. It did its work, but it was not a pleasant experience. I didn't throw away the case, by the way, and I won't. There are some parts of it, including the fabric and the webbing strap, that I may be able to use for something else. It's one thing that ripping it apart won't bother me at all. I want to see what's inside the flap, which is hard enough that I think it might be metal. Let's see, where is that seam ripper??

So that was another quiet day and now it's a dark, cloudy, windy night in the field. Oh, and October is over. Wow.

October 30

Late again. This is getting habitual and I need to take myself in hand, especially since I didn't do anything but play soltaire. I got up around 10:30 and knitted my two rows.

I think I'm getting the hang of the dressing change, but tonight will tell better. I did manage to ruin my first tube of the salve, but I have another one, and the wound is getting small enough that I think this one will last a lot longer.

I didn't do anything much. I called the heating people again and gave the speech I've been practicing for a couple of weeks. We'll see if that works. I also have a very noisy pump, and I'm hoping that helps impel them to come. I called the people who rent out the Wound Vacs and asked them to send a pickup order to UPS, so then I had to pack up the thing in its case and the bag. It's out in the breezeway waiting for them. And I made rice. So I guess it wasn't a complete dud.

The weather was, though. It was dark and dull and cloudy. The high temperature was 46º. It was very windy this morning, with gusts up to 37 mph, but the wind died down in the afternoon and we had 0.02" of rain that I missed entirely. Sort of yuck, but it was humid enough that my joints were creaking.

The guys slept. Louie got his loving in the morning and Grayson slept on my lap for a long time. None of us like this weather.

And that was it. The bulletin stuff came through late again, so that will be the task for tomorrow, since it has to be printed on Thursday morning.

Now it's a dark, cool night in the field and maybe - just maybe - I can get to be at a reasonable hour. I would love to stay up until 1:00, because they are going to play the Trout Quintet. but I'm tired enough that I don't think I will.

October 29

I was ridiculously late again last night. I think I was just too tired to move. I slept, of course. i was almost asleep when the nurse called to say he would be here around 1:30, so I went back to sleep for an hour or so, and then I knitted two rows. This pattern is an easy one, except for the last row, so it didn't take me very long, even though I have well over 500 stitches on the needle. It just gets boring before I get to the end.

Then, I was just about ready to get dressed when the nurse turned up - an hour before he said he would be here. Well, he's a nurse. He's used to seeing people in their nightgowns. He inspected and bandaged my wound and we had some discussion of how I can do it myself without getting tangled up in the tape or messing up my skin. It was very helpful. Now I'm on my own until Thursday. I was going to wash my hair tonight, but I think I'll pass and try to get to bed at a more reasonable hour.

I have been having problems with my mouse and my keyboard going down. I can't tell whether it's the devices or the USB connections, but I'm inclined to think it's the USB, and Microsoft is laying bombs in Windows 7 to force people to upgrade to 10. Anyway, in the middle of the afternoon, both the mouse and the keyboard went down together and wouldn't come back. Sometimes I can force them back up by unplugging them and plugging them back in, but that didn't work this time - in fact, when I did, Windows didn't recognize them as devices. So I had to reboot, and the only way I could do that was to turn the computer off. There is a switch on top of the CPU, but it's very difficult to force a shutdown. The next time that happens, I think I will just unplug it, which I know works. It's been better since it came back up, but the mouse is still going down momentarily. What a pain.

The weather wasn't too bad. The high temperature was 47º and there was hardly any wind. It is very humid, but since I'm inside mostly, it didn't bother me very much. The skies were partly cloudy, sometimes more and sometimes less, but we had a lot of sunshine, which I think we all basked in.

The guys slept otherwise. Grayson had to supervise the changing of my dressing, of course. He got a lot of lap time during the afternoon. Louie went his way. He gets his loving before I get dressed, in the bathroom, except for the occasional time when he has to sit on my lap - usually when I'm busy. I think they probably soaked up the rays, too. We get too few of those lately.

So it was another quiet, unproductive day, but I didn't get enough sleep last night and I am tired. Now it's a partly cloudy (I think), cool night in the field.

October 28

I turned out the light at about 9:45 last night, but I had some problem getting to sleep. I guess my feet were cold, but my mind seemed to be going around in circles about nothing very much, too. I finally put on my bed socks and turned over, and then I slept fairly well, although I was up several times. I got up when the alarm went off at 6:30, but I didn't really want to.

I managed to get out of the house about when I wanted to, too, although I had to rush. Doing the dressing takes time, even though I did a terrible job on it again. Maybe before I'm healed up I'll have figured out how to do it - but maybe not, too.

It was good to be in church again. This was our Reformation celebration, and we used the service setting that has all the liturgy set to hymns, which means it took a long time and we sang something like 12 hymns, maybe more (I didn't count).

i had toyed with the idea of running to Pat's, because I forgot to get milk, but I was having enough trouble moving that I decided to go home. A lady of the congregation said she wanted to make me some soup, so I agreed. What I didn't expect was a big bag full of all sorts of things. When i got home and looked at it, not only was there a big bowl of soup, there was a container of salad complete with dressing and two pieces of cake for dessert - a whole meal! She even put some napkins in the bag! So I had a late lunch and I just finished the rest. There is still a lot of soup, but I wanted to eat the salad while it was still fairly fresh. It was a lovely dinner. Some people are just so nice!

Otherwise, I did nothing and I'm so late because I was reading and playing games. The usual.

The weather was nondescript. It was dark and dull and the temperature was steady at around 42º with a moderate north wind. It didn't rain enough to register in the rain gauge, but it drizzled all the way to Laurium and all the way back, just enough that i had to keep turning on the windshield wipers. No wonder I was so sore!

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a long time, and then he and Louie both settled down on the paper on the floor behind me. They don't like this weather either.

So that's all there was and now it's late on a dark, cloudy night in the field.

October 27

Late again, and I fear I won't get to bed as early as I'd like to tonight. I guess I had to discipline myself so much for so long that now I don't want to do it at all. So I was tired today and everything got jumbled together.

I finished the first repeat of the next pattern, and it is fiddly enough that it took me a long time - much longer than the rest of the pattern. I guess it looks all right, although I don't think I would have done the last row that way. Since I have 8 repeats to do, it's going to take a very long time to do that sixth row.

I was so late that I didn't do anything except - I just remembered - I put a load of panties in the washer that need to be dried. Well, maybe I can remember to do that on my way north.

I still have to laugh at my attempts to dress my own wound. When I woke up this morning, the dressing had come almost completely off. I won't try quite that method again. I managed to get a new one on, but the tape is so sticky and sticks to itself much better than it does to anything else, so while my wound is dressed, it's pretty messy. Tonight I will try to cut the tape rather than tear it and hope that helps. And the doctor said I could shower with nothing over the wound, so I'm interested to see if that stings. It still is rather deep, but it looks good and every day it seems to be healed over some more, so that's encouraging.

The weather was better off ignored. It was dark and dull, but there wasn't any rain after 2:00 AM. The temperature was steady at 44º, and there was a very light wind from the south. It was very humid, which is no doubt why I felt creaky all day. I ignored the outside.

The guys were around me all day. Louie spent most of the night on the rug beside my bed, and when I finally got up, he moved to between my feet in the bathroom. Grayson got a lot of lap time, but late in the afternoon, I kept hearing rustling behind me, and when I finally looked, they were both lying on the papers on the floor. I think Louie may still be there. it's going to take them a long time to get over my leaving them.

So that was my day, and I'm going to be later getting to bed than I wanted to, but oh, well. It's a cool, dark night in the field.

October 26

It was another late night, not surprisingly, considering when I ate dinner. I got up around 11:00, I think, and knitted two rows. I thought about doing more, but it took me an hour (and this is a very easy pattern), so I didn't. I have well over 500 stitches now.

I had just redone my dressing and was putting on my clothes when the home nurse called. Drat. If I'd known she was coming, I would have let her do the dressing. Anyway, she came after I ate breakfast and she looked at my wound and was very pleased by what she saw - as I've been - and she gave me a couple of suggestions for how to conserve my supplies. They will be coming in on Mondays and Thursdays, at least until the wound heals over, and I'm glad for it. They can check to see that I'm still progressing and catch anything that may be going wrong. I doubt there will be any more glitches, but considering where I've been, I'm not assuming anything.

I didn't do anything else, but it was late by the time the nurse left. That's the only problem with having them come: it takes a big chunk out of my day.

The weather was miserable. The temperature was steady at about 44º and there was very little wind. It was very cloudy and dark and it was foggy and rainy. We had about 0.3" of rain so far. I needed lights wherever I was. At least it wasn't cold.

The guys were very sleepy and I don't think Louie feels good. He spent most of the night on the rug in front of the toilet in the bathroom and he was going after Grayson all day. I think he threw up something yesterday after I left for choir, and my guess is he has a hairball and a tummy ache. Grayson got a lot of lap time, as usual. They still don't trust the situation, and that may have contributed to Louie's upset, too. But I did come home and I didn't go away today. The only thing was, that strange person came, so things still aren't normal.

So that was it, and I'm tired. I expect to be in bed very early tonight. Now it's a dark, cloudy, foggy night in the field.

October 25

I don't know why it is that I don't want to go to sleep on Wednesday nights. It just seems to happen. So I was very late. I got up around 10:30, I think, but that wasn't enough sleep, so I'm very tired now.

I knitted, and I started the next pattern, which has some very interesting features. I only did two rows, and I doubt I'll be able to do much more, because I have so many stitches on the needles and they're increasing by four stitches every row. I'm not sure I really like this thing, but it is an interesting project.

Then I had to change my dressing. I managed, but it wasn't very neat. It's not easy to bandage your own front, even looking in a mirror, and besides, the glop I'm supposed to be putting on it is very stiff and hard to get out of the tube. The package includes a conical tip, which I thought would be helpful, but it's turned out that it isn't helpful at all. I only hope I got enough into my wound. The wound looks good and it is healing very fast and hardly draining at all, but it's still an opening. At the rate it's going, though, I think it will close up fast.

I was late enough that I didn't do anything besides my surfing before I went off and picked Mary Ann up to go to choir and Bible study. It was so good to be back! It was rather jarring, though, to be starting to practice Christmas music. I know I've lost six weeks, more or less, but it seems like I've lost a lot more time than that!

Bible Study was good, too. We are studying the book of Hebrews, which I suggested, but we're not very far into it yet. I have the first three sessions that Nancy emailed me, but it's so much better to be there and hear all the discussion that goes on, most of it only peripherally related to the lesson at hand.

I got home around 9:30 and just finished my lamb chop. You know if I shopped yesterday that there would be a lamb chop! There is also a big package of whitefish, at least some of which I will have for dinner tomorrow and save my salmon for Saturday, maybe. This package of whitefish is almost 1¼ pounds, though, and there's no way I could eat that much of any meat, so I guess I will have one filet and freeze the other one. That will add to the ones I already have in the freezer, which will be nice in the wintertime when I don't go anywhere. I do love whitefish!

The weather was not good. It was dark and cloudy all day, and we had almost an inch of rain around noon, plus some drizzle or light rain while we were coming home. The high temperature was 51º, which was quite a bit warmer than lately. There wasn't any wind. Not horrible, but just sort of yuck!

When I got up to go away, I had one cat on my lap and the other one on the floor behind me. I haven't seen much of anyone since I got home. I think Grayson is pouting. I'm not supposed to go away, especially late in the afternoon. The last time I did that, I didn't come home for two days! Well, I am home and things are getting back to normal, but it will take a while before they believe that. Oh, he just turned up, so I guess I'm sort of forgiven. Sort of.

So it was a quiet day, but the most normal Thursday I've had in a couple of months. Now it's a dark, rainy night in the field and it's time to go to bed!

October 24

I'm not wearing the Wound Vac anymore! Yee-hah!!!! How good it feels to be free!

I made it into bed by about 10:30 last night, I think, having taken a bath. I didn't sleep all that well. I was up any number of times - the fish, probably. I got up right about 8:00 and I managed to get away just about when I wanted to, although I still don't understand why it seems to take me 10 minutes to put on my coat and get into the car. I don't move that slowly!

The doctor was behind, of course, and they had worked me in, so several other people had to wait, but it didn't take me very long. He was pleased about how my right side looks, and he was also pleased by how the left side is healing. I asked him not to make me wear the Wound Vac anymore, but he agreed that it wasn't necessary. So they sent me home with a lot of gauze and some kind of glop that is supposed to draw out the fluid, and I will be changing my own dressings. We'll see how that goes. I won't have to do it until tomorrow, but then I'll be doing it twice a day, i guess until it heals over or three weeks, which is when I see him again. If it isn't healed completely by then, it should be close. So everything is finally progressing the way it should have from the beginning and I can begin to resume my normal routine.

I started that by going to Pat's and shopping. I made a real dent in the checkbook, but I needed a bunch of non-food things, like laundry soap and plastic wrap. I stopped at the post office on my way home and got my mail and talked to Mary Ann - she hasn't seen me in six weeks, I think, although we've talked frequently. I was exhausted and I had to pee when I got home, so I sat and read a catalog before I brought in the groceries, and most of them are still out in the breezeway. Then I had the sandwich I bought - it was OK - and that was late enough that I didn't have to cook any dinner.

The weather was cool but not too bad. The high temperature here was 44º, but it was nearly steady after noon. There wasn't any wind. The morning was cloudy, but it cleared up after noon and it was beautifully clear by sunset. The moon is still full - I think this is the Hunter's Moon - so it should be bright tonight.

The drive to and from Laurium was pretty, but the trees along the covered road are nearly bare now. Some of the hills are still red or brown and the oaks and tamaracks have turned. It's really too bad the weather was so awful the first couple of weeks of October, because this was an exceptionally pretty color year, and it seemed to me that all the trees turned at about the same time for a change. Down here by the shore, we still have a lot of leaves on trees, but they will be going. There wasn't very much traffic, but on the way down, I got behind two full logging double-bed logging trucks. One of them was alarming - every time it went over a bump in the road, it rocked back and forth badly. I was glad to get around it, but before I did, it shed a lot of twigs and leaves, one of which got caught in my windshield wiper. It's still there.

I think the guys slept. At least, Grayson didn't show up until I went out to get the groceries, and I never did see Louie, except that they were both sleeping on the floor behind me when I went to get my dinner. Grayson got some lap time after I got home, I think. They will be very happy that things are getting back to normal, although they won't be happy when I to off tomorrow night.

I'm not sure yet that I will be going, but I think so. I'm not back to 100%, but I think it's time I began to push it a bit. Much as I wish I could be a hermit, that's not good for me and I have to make myself get out and be with people.

So that was my day, and now I'm very tired and I'm going to bed. It's a clear, cool night in the field.

October 23

I don't seem to be able to string more than two early nights together without trying to do an all-nighter. It wasn't that, but I was late. Tonight has to be earlier, because I have to be up by 8:00 AM tomorrow. My doctor's appointment is at 11:00.

I knitted four rows and I now have almost 500 stitches on the needle - the transition rows between the two patterns had a whole lot of increases in it. I won't be able to knit tomorrow, so I decided to do what I could today.

I didn't do a lot, but it was something. I washed a load o sweats, which is now in the dryer, and I did the bulletin. This one was hard, because we are using Martin Luther's hymn service, so most of the service had to be listed. It took more than the usual area (I had to use a smaller type for the usual greeting) and almost half of the second page, which moved everything down. It was either that or use 10-point type for the whole service, and that looked too hard to read to me. Well, I got it out, and I haven't heard any feedback yet. Next week should be easier, although since it's the observance of All Saint's Day, there may be some gotchas there, too. I can't believe it's almost the end of October already. The food pantry collection for November includes a "Christmas treat." Gack!

The weather was blah. The high temperature was only 42º and it was cloudy and dull, although there was a rather spectacular sunset that I didn't have time to capture. The wind was strong overnight, along with the singing of the lake, but it died down quite a bit and it's now out of the north at around 15 mph. What happens tomorrow depends partly on whose forecast you believe, but it looks to be pretty good to drive in. That's nice; the last time I was down the peninsula, it was raining. Since I do have to go to Pat's tomorrow, I hoped it would at least not rain.

The guys were around. Louie was about to jump up on the bed when I got up, and Grayson curled up in the covers. He also got a whole lot of time on my lap, although he annoyed me because he was clutching at my shirt. Fortunately, this one is fairly immune to picks.

So that was my day, and now I have to run up to the north end and get my bath as fast as possible. It's a cloudy, cold night in the field.

October 22

Now, why was I so late last night? I forget, but it was about the same time as the night before. I slept better, though, and I only had one slight night sweat, which is a good sign. I got up around 10:00 and I knitted two rows before the nurse called.

After she left, I sat and knitted two more rows, so I have only two easy rows left before I'm through with this part of the shawl. It's getting big.

That was all I did. I was thinking about the bulletin, but I forgot, so I'll have to do it tomorrow.

The weather started out clear, but after 5:00 PM it clouded up completely. The high temperature was 50º, and there was a slight wind from the north. Sort of blah.

The guys did their thing. Grayson sat at the end of the bed all the time the nurse was changing my Wound Vac dressing. I think he could probably explain how to do it as well as we can, although I think the reason he was there is to make sure nobody tried to do anything bad to me. Louie got his loving this morning, and I didn't see much of him after that.

So now I can try to get to bed early again. I feel much better when I get enough sleep at the proper time. You'd think by this time I'd know that, but I keep forgetting it. It's a cool, cloudy night in the field and tomorrow will be worse.

October 21

I was late last night. With the bath and all, it was 11:30 before I turned out the light. I slept fairly well. I had a couple of night sweats and a wakeful period, but then I slept for 3 hours before I got up around 9:30. I knitted four rows and filled the pill dispensers, so it was noon before I ate.

I washed a load of bottoms that needs to be put in the dryer, but that was all I did except to sort of move dishes around. I'm still washing a dish at a time as I need them, which is annoying, but I haven't felt like filling the dishwasher yet.

I will be a little later than I want to be tonight, too, because for the second week in the row, MS backup decided to back up the whole damn hard disk, and it's so slow and clunky that it's been going for 2½ hours and it's not done yet. i downloaded another backup program, but I haven't learned how to use it yet. This may be the impetus I need. Grr.

The weather was cold. The high temperature was only 40º and while the wind died down overnight, the lake was singing for quite a while before it went silent. We went almost the whole summer without any wind to speak of, and it still seems so strange to hear the lake again. it was cloudy almost all day, but it began to clear up around 5:00 PM, and it was completely clear at sunset.

The guys were full of energy this morning, but that soon gave out. Grayson spent most of the afternoon sitting on my lap. He doesn't understand that just because he doesn't have to pee doesn't mean I don't, so eventually I had to move him so I could get up. Louie slept wherever Louie sleeps during the day - I didn't see much of him. While I was knitting this morning, he was asleep under the heat lamp, which is warmer than between my feet.

So it was another quiet day. I got all the pill dispensers filled and found which pills I don't have four weeks' worth, and I tried to make some sense of my online pharmacy lists - I couldn't and I finally gave up - so that I can get what I need in three weeks. What a terrible so-called service that is!

Now it's a clear, cold night in the field, and I'm off to bed soon.

October 20

I was in bed before 10:30 last night, but i didn't sleep very well and I was up any number of times. I think it was the fish. I got up around 9:30, but I didn't feel very good all day, so I didn't do anything.

I knitted, and I spliced in a new ball of yarn and did two rows on the 9th repeat. I have almost 400 stitches now, so it's going to be slower and slower from now on.

The weather was completely different from the past two days. The temperature was 49º at midnight and it went down slowly all day, to 38º now. It was very windy, with gusts up to 49 mph this morning. It was cloudy and dull all day. I ignored it, except to listen to the lake singing.

The guys did their thing, and I think they were happy that nobody came. Grayson slept on my lap for a very long time. I don't know where Louie was, but he just appeared and tried to go after Grayson before I shouted at him. Louie hides in the bushes. He is a very smart cat.

So that's all I have to report. Tonight I will take a bath - the first one at night in over a month - and that will be good. I was supposed to fill the pill dispensers today, but I forgot, so I'll have to do it tomorrow. Now it's a cold, windy, cloudy night in the field and it's bedtime.

October 19

Last night, I was in bed by 10:00. I slept well, with the usual wakeups and no wakefulness, and I got up around 9:30. That surprised me, but evidently I needed the sleep. I knitted three and about a half rows. The nurse called me while I was doing the last (purl) row on that repeat, and said she would be here in two hours, so I got up and did my thing and I was just through with my breakfast when she came. She had to wait while I went to the bathroom, but she wasn't in any hurry. She broke down boxes, of which I had too many on the dining room table, while I did my thing.

Then we attacked my wounds. We think the one under my right arm is healed, but she did put a band aid on it. She is the one who did the Wound Vac dressing that sprang a leak, but this time, she used so much tape - with my urging - that if it leaks it will be a miracle. It's still holding. Then, bless her, we went out onto the deck and she pulled down the shutters over the porch. When we came in, she put the bar in the patio door, so now i am all battened down for the winter. She is such a nice person! All the nurses are nice, but this one is special.

I hoped to do something else, but it took so long to do the dressing and I was tired when the nurse had gone, so I just sat, and then my Schwan's order came. I moved the dining chair with arms into the kitchen so I could sit while I stowed everything away, and that worked pretty well, although with the fridge out in the middle of the floor, it's a bit crowded. Then I was really tired, so the dishes didn't get washed again today.

The nice news is that with the thing under my right arm healed, I can take a bath tomorrow night as usual. I'm looking forward to that. I've taken my showers at night for 50 years or more and I hate to do it any other time. Maybe things are getting back to normal. Fingers crossed.

The weather wasn't as nice as yesterday, but it was nice. The temperature during the day got up to 60º, but it was - and is - very windy. The gusts got up to 39 mph, and when we were out on the deck, I had to be careful not to be unbalanced by the gusts. There was some intermittent sunshine, but mostly it was cloudy. Between 6:00 and 7:00 PM we had a bit of rain. And tomorrow, it's supposed to be in the 30s and snow. Sigh. Oh, and the camera hung up around 6:00, so if there was a sunset, we didn't see it.

The guys were themselves. Louie was agitating this morning while i was knitting, because all his food bowls were nearly empty, but he was nice about it. While the nurse was doing my dressing, Grayson jumped up on the bed and laid down on the body pillow, where he got petted. He is almost as interested in that procedure as I am, and I've had some problem keeping him away from my chest, particularly when the wound is open. I'm sure by this time we both know how to do the Wound Vac dressing as well as the nurses do.

So it twa another quiet day. I don't feel very good now, but I take that to mean I need to go to bed. I do want to finish the row I was knitting when the nurse called, but then I'll be off to dreamland. It's a cloudy night in the field and the temperature is dropping...

October 18

So I pulled an all-nighter last night, and I don't know why, except that I apparently just didn't want to go to bed. Weird, because I was tired. Anyway, I didn't get up until around noon and I knitted two rows, so the day has been a truncated one. I hope tonight will be earlier.

I was so late that I didn't do anything, and the dishes are still unwashed. Sigh. I did finally get my underpants put away, what there are left of the clean ones. That will make it easier, since the drawer is right beside the toilet. I pushed a whole huge load of bottoms into the laundry room, but then I forgot about them, just like I forgot about doing the dishes. I get at the computer and go into zombie mode, for sure.

The weather was remarkable, and I should at least have stuck my nose outside, but I didn't. The high temperature was 66º, after an overnight low of 29º. The wind was from the southwest to west with gusts up to 36 mph. It was clear or nearly clear all day, and the half moon is shining in the south windows as I type. It got much warmer than they had predicted, but tomorrow is supposed to be in the 50s, too, before it snows again. Well, I should have gone to bed early, gotten up early and gone outside, but I didn't.

The guys were sleepy, but they've been telling me they are so happy I'm home and apparently on the mend. Grayson got his lap time, and Louie slept at my feet, purring, while I knitted. It never ceases to amaze me how they know when something is wrong.

So that was my day, Now I'm listening to Sibelius, but there isn't much else programmed for tonight that I'm interested in, so maybe I'll go to bed. Maybe. It's a clear, breezy night in the field, and I will be looking for stars.

October 17

Well, this was an interesting day. I was in bed by 10:30 last night and I didn't get up until 9:30 this morning, although I was wakeful for a while during the night. I knitted four rows on the shawl and finished the seventh repeat - only 18 more rows to go on this pattern. Then I took my shower, which felt good, even though it was at the wrong time of day.

The nurse came around 2:00 and she says that the thing under my right arm looks completely healed over, so nobody will have to come tomorrow or over the weekend, although they'll check it on Friday. She changed my Wound Vac dressing and everything seemed good with it.

Then I was listening to the talking around 5:00 when it started alarming, saying there was either a blockage or low pressure. I fiddled with it and did what I could, but it kept alarming, so I had to call the on-call nurse, who happened to be the guy who changed it on Monday. He arrived a bit after 7:00 - while I was still eating my dinner - and at first he tried to repair the dressing I had on, but it soon became clear that it wouldn't hold a vacuum, so he had to change it again. Now I am so taped up I doubt there's any possibility that it won't work properly. Geez. Well, everything else has gone wrong...

I started to load the dishwasher right after the talking started, but then Mary Ann called, and we had a nice, long conversation, all with me standing up. By the time we hung up, I was so exhausted that I had to sit down in order to get back to the computer to sit down, so I haven't done anything more on it. I really need to wash dishes!

The weather was interesting, too. The temperature went down from 40º at 2:00 AM to 37º now. It was extremely windy, with gusts up to 43 mph from the north, although the wind is dying down a bit now. There was snow in the valley between the breezeway and the garage when I got up this morning, and evidently we had snow, graupel and sleet, but not enough to register at the weather station. There were thick clouds, but we actually had a considerable amount of sunshine and blue skies, which were very welcome. At this time of year, the sun shining in the south windows shines right on me and makes it hard to see the computer screen, but it's so nice to feel the sunshine that I can cope.

The guys were themselves, but Grayson clearly knew something was wrong with me, and just as the nurse was about to begin working with my Wound Vac, he barfed up the food he had just eaten. it amazes me what they know. The first nurse actually saw Louie, who was under the bed, although I think he ran away.

So that was my day, and I hope to get to bed early again tonight. Now it's a cold, partly cloudy night in the field, but it's supposed to be sunny and much warmer tomorrow. I hope so.

October 16

I was a bit later than I intended last night, but I guess I was just too tired to get up. I slept well and I got up around 10:30. I knitted one row on the shawl and ate my breakfast before the nurse got here to change the dressing under my right arm. It apparently looks like it's healing over nicely.

I managed to get away more or less when I wanted to. although how it takes 10 minutes to put on my jacket and walk from the house to the car is still beyond me. Mercifully, there wasn't very much traffic or any people standing in the middle of the road. The color peaked last week, but it's still pretty, even in the clouds.

The dentist didn't find anything, thankfully.

I had toyed with the idea of eating dinner at Bambu, but I was tired when I got out of the dentist's office and I had to get gas, so I came home. Besides, my Wound Vac makes uncouth noises that might be obvious in a restaurant. Getting gas wasn't very nice, because there was a lot of wind, but I did it, and I got home around 5:30, I think. Of course, I had to change my bottoms, but then I did my dinner right away. I thought about making rice, but I'll do that tomorrow.

The weather wasn't very nice. It got up to 46º here, and mostly it rained early in the morning, but it was windy - the gusts got up to 40 mph from the north at 8:00 PM - and raw. It was cloudy, except that there was a bit of a break in the clouds on my way south. At least there was no snow.

The guys slept, I think. Grayson wanted to know what the nurse was doing, and he wanted to sit on me when I got home, but my dinner was cooking and he got tangled up in the Wound Vac. I haven't seen Louie since I got home.

So that was it. Another quiet day. And now it's a windy, cold, dark night in the field and I'm going to bed.

October 15

I was ridiculously late last night - or rather this morning - and I didn't get enough sleep. I got up around 10;00 and I knitted three rows before the nurse called and I had to stop and take my shower.

The nurse came around 2:00 and did my Wound Vac and the other thing, so I didn't have a lot of time to do anything.

I forgot to mention that when I did my weekly backup last night, MS decided to do a complete backup - three disks full - and that was part of what set me on the road to a very late night. That backup is so slow! I have another backup program, but I've never gotten around to learning how to use it. I guess I'd better. i wish I could ditch MS altogether, because they sell junk. Sigh.

Anyway, the weather was not good. When I got up, I saw what I thought was fog down the harbor. Hah! it was snow! There was snow on the garage roof, but it melted, and then a while later it was covered again, then when I was getting dressed, it was pouring rain! Yuck! Altogether, we got 0.11" of precip, but snow. Oh, no. The high temperature was only 40º and this morning when it was raining or something, there were wind gusts up to 36 mph from the north. Needless to say, it was cloudy and dark and dreary all day, even though the rain stopped after about 2:00 PM. I was glad to be indoors.

The guys slept. They both got some lap time, although Louie chased Grayson away. While the nurse was changing my dressing, Grayson was sitting on the bed with me, and he was very interested. I had to keep a hand on him to keep him from trying to get too close to the open wound. Sometimes I wonder that he's managed to get to the ripe old age of 8. He is the quintessential curious cat.

So it was another quiet day. Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist, so I will have to be up at a reasonable hour to get my dressing changed before I leave. I'm tired anyway, so it will be good to get to bed.

Now it's a cold, dark night in the field and autumn is changing into winter much faster than I could wish.

October 14

I wasn't too late last night, but I only had time to do one row on the shawl because the nurse came early. Then I went into zombie mode and didn't do anything at all for the rest of the day. even move. and I had cheese and crackers for dinner.

The weather was nondescript. It was cloudy, and there was a bit of rain around 8:00 this morning. The high temperature was 42º and there wasn't any wind. Blah.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, and Louie wanted to get on my lap, too, but Grayson was already there.

So that was it. It's a cold, cloudy night in the field again.

October 13

i made it into bed by 11:00 last night and I got up around 10:00 this morning, much refreshed, although I had a severe night sweat during the night and also a wakeful period, so I didn't really get 11 hours' sleep. I'm tired again now, though. I have no stamina at all.

I knitted three rows, and maybe tomorrow I can knit three more? I took a shower, and it's nice to have clean hair again. A different nurse came, but she was competent and my right side wound is dressed again. I have a load of clothes in the washer that needs to be dried. I am out of compression hose, so I had to wash. I didn't get the dishwasher loaded. I was too tired. In fact, I was so tired that I didn't eat dinner until after 10:00, because I just didn't want to move.

The weather was sort of nondescript. There was a little sunshine this morning, but most of the day was bright-cloudy. It got down to 33º overnight, but the high was 46º. There was a tiny bit of rain after midnight, but none for the rest of the day. The wind has died down, too, to almost nothing. I didn't stick my nose outside.

The guys both got some lap time. Grayson slept on me after I ate breakfast, and Louie came later, but eventually I had to make him leave because he's so heavy. They feel good, though, and I think they're beginning to believe I might not be going away and leaving them.

So that was my day. Now it's a cold, cloudy night in the field and I need to go to bed.

October 12

Much too late again, and I had to get up around 10:00 because the nurse was coming. I did have time to knit two rows - the two easiest ones. Now I'm halfway done with this pattern. Well, not really, because the number of stitches increases by 16 for each repeat, but at least I've done half the rows.

The nurse came and changed my dressings - this was Wound Vac day. I didn't do anything else. Without enough sleep, I didn't feel like doing anything. I can report that I was having a bit less trouble getting out of seats today, which is a good thing. But I'm really tired now, and I will try to be early to bed. Try.

The weather was a bit better than yesterday, but it's still cold. The temperature was nearly steady around 38º for most of the day, but it's now gone down to 33º. I think that's partly because the wind has died down. Earlier, it was gusting up to 33 mph, but now it's down to 7 mph with 18 mph gusts, from the north, of course. There was a tiny bit of rain between 3:00 and 4:00 PM, but there was also some nice sunshine late this morning. It was nice to see the mountain in all its autumn glory, although the camera missed it. Now it's foggy and rainy and yucky again. So far, this has not been one of our best falls.

The guys slept. Grayson slept on me for a while, but I didn't see Louie today. I think he spent the day on his winter bed, which is a scratching pad in the great room. I think the corrugated cardboard on end funnels the heat from the floor. Grayson is back on the flannel nighties outside the door to the studio, which is his winter sleeping spot.

So it was a very quiet day, and now it's a cold, dark, rainy night in the field.

October 11

I was reading the end of Voyages, Part 3 and I wanted to finish it, but it took a long time. I slept well, and I got up around 10:00, I think. I knitted, and this time I was able to do my two rows with no tangles. Tomorrow I will finish the last two rows of this repeat, which are easy ones, and I will be halfway through this pattern.

I had disconnected the power cord for the Wound Vac and I was about to start down to the kitchen to get my breakfast when Debbie called. So I sat down on the toilet and talked to her. It wasn't a long conversation because she was on her lunch hour. I had put her off long enough that we had to talk, and I wanted to know what she had decided about a choice she was facing. I'm still not sure she made the right one, but I can understand why she did.

Then, as I was about to begin making my breakfast, Mary Ann called and I had to talk to her while standing up. I had just sat down to rest when the nurse arrived, so we took care of that. She thinks everything looks good. I didn't finish my breakfast until after 3:00, which meant I just finished my dinner at 9:30. I like to keep a bit more normal hours than that!

I didn't do much else, but I did do the system update on the desktop. I tried to do it on the laptop, but I was halfway through the download when it shut down and now I can't power it up. Every time I do, a little yellow light on the front blinks five times, but nothing else happens. So I left it, and tomorrow I will go searching the Internet to try to find out what happened and how to fix it. If it's not one damn thing, it's another. I want to be able to use that laptop.

The weather was marginally better than yesterday. It did rain a bit, 0.16" worth, but not after noon. Then the temperature went down, and it's been steady around 39º all day. It's been windy, and now the wind has shifted north and the gusts are up to 41 mph. That's gale force gusts. It was cloudy, but a lot lighter than it has been for the past few days, and there were even a few little rays of sunshine a couple of times. Mary Ann and I agreed we needed that.

The guys were sleepy. Today was Louie's day. He spent a long time on my lap, although I wouldn't let him rest his head on my arm. Grayson didn't get any lap time today - not my fault - and he was being naughty. He reminds me of Buster, in that he needs to be the center of attention and he will do all sorts of naughty things if he feels he's being ignored. I finally had to screech at him, but I'm not sure it did much good.

So that was another quiet day, and now it's a cold, windy night in the field, but at least it's not raining - or snowing!

October 10

I was reading, so not only was I not early to bed, I was later than ever. Maybe tonight? I'm really tired.

I knitted, but my yarn got all tangled up again (that yarn is horrible!) so I didn't have much time to do anything but eat before I had to leave for my appointment. It was pouring rain here when I left, but after about Delaware, it just drizzled. I made it in time.

The word from the doctor is good. The thing on my right side has just about closed up and only needs some ointment and a band aid now. I will still have to have somebody come to do it, because I can't reach it. My chest looks pretty good, too, although there is still some infection. He poked his fingers up into my chest to try to dislodge some of the fluid, and that seems to have helped. The wound is already beginning to close, although it will probably be at least two weeks before I can get rid of the Wound Vac. So all that was good news. And I don't have to go back next week, which is also nice.

I got home around 5:30. The guys were very relieved to see me, especially when I didn't rustle around and leave again.

The weather was really miserable. We had 2.35" of rain on top of the 0.7" we had yesterday, The temperature was steady around 40º. The wind is still from the east and it was strong, with gusts up to 35 mph. Of course it was dull and gray. Yuck. I was very sorry I had to go out. Oh, and there may be some snow tomorrow afternoon in the higher elevations. Oh, winter!!

I have to say, even though it was so dark, the drive was beautiful. We are at the peak of the color now, and it is very pretty. Since it's the middle of the week, I didn't run into any people standing in the middle of the road, but I did have two or three people who were going very slowly and who pulled over to let me pass, which I thought was very nice of them, especially on the way down.

The guys mostly slept. They were not happy when I got dressed and went off, and they were relieved when I came back and didn't leave again. Grayson slept on my lap after I got home, but he also kicked my flashlight on the floor, which I didn't appreciate. He is such a snot. Louie is just happy I'm here.

So that was my day, and I am tired. It's a cold, dark, rainy and windy night in the field.

October 9

Oh, midnight again. I'm going to try - again - to make it earlier tonight, but right now I'm listening to Beethoven's 6th, which is one of my very favorites, so I won't be early. Unfortunately, I can't stay up until midnight tonight to hear Schubert's 8th. I just can't. I'm so tired!

I got up at 10:00. I had to get up because I was peeing my pants again, but I didn't go back to bed. I knitted two rows - the two easiest - and I took a shower. That went better than the last time, so I guess slowly - ever so slowly - I'm beginning to regain my strength. The nurse came and changed my dressings, which had gotten wet. The Wound Vac thing is sealed, so I don't need to worry about it when I get it wet.

I got my "welcome" call from the company that makes the Wound Vac, and I had to call them back because I didn't have the information about my secondary insurance at hand and the hospital didn't send it on. That seems the norm. I know I've had that problem before. I don't know why they can't send complete information, but they never do. I guess that is set up right now, but we'll see when the bills start to come in (shudder - I shouldn't have to pay anything, with my insurance, but there will be hassles). UPS came with a big box of Wound Vac supplies, so I should be good for several weeks.

The weather was perfectly miserable. The temperature was steady at 43º and the wind was out of the east with gusts up to 30 mph. The lake has been singing. We have had 0.61" of rain so far. The NWS has a flood watch out, but unless we get dumped on overnight, that ain't goin' to happen. Maybe tomorrow, because it's supposed to rain all day, but not today.

The guys were sleepy. Louie wanted to sit on me when Grayson already was, so in the end nobody got to. They are still so glad to have me home and they're not so sure I won't go away again and not come back. I wish I could reason with them.

I just got the bulletin out, I think. It took me a while to figure out how to get pastor's file open, and with all the telephone stuff, I didn't have time earlier.

Now it's a cold, dark, rainy night in the field and as soon as this is over, I am going to bed.

October 8

So I stayed up too late last night, like I frequently do, and I paid. I had to change out the canister around 7:30, and I was just getting back to sleep when the nurse called to inform me she would be here around 9:30. Ack! So I got up and tried to wake up, but I didn't have time to eat before she got here.

I was afraid that changing the Wound Vac dressing was a rigmarole, and I was right. I think it took her at least 45 minutes to do it. I know it's sealed, but the vac isn't drawing out much fluid yet. It has to go through several layers of packing. I was afraid it wasn't working at all, but there is a little stuff in the canister now. I guess I'll learn how it works before I can stop wearing it.

I had a visit from a social worker today, but she didn't have any sources to suggest for help around here. There are only two companies that help older people and neither of them come this far north. It was a disappointment, but I wasn't surprised. As far as most of the Copper Country is concerned, I might as well live on the shores of Hudson's Bay.

I was so tired I didn't do anything else besides my surfing. I had to wash a plate and a bowl to eat my dinner, but I am too tired to do the dishwasher tonight - again.

I am just tired, though. I don't feel sick and I'm not running a temperature, so it's all just the stamina I lost last week. Disappointing, but then, the whole thing is.

The weather was miserable and I ignored it. The temperature was marginally warmer and steady, about 45º. There was some wind from the south in the middle of the day, but it didn't last long. It was dull and gray and there was a lot of fog down the harbor and we had 0.38" of rain in small doses. Not nice.

The guys slept, mostly. Grayson slept around or on me as much as he could, and Louie sat on me until I had to move him because my legs were getting twitchy. They are so happy mommy is home! Maybe almost as happy as mommy is.

So that was it. Now it's a dark, cold and rainy night in the field, and I need to crash.

October 7

So I sat and did whatever it was I was doing (don't remember) until a really stupid hour before I went to bed. I was only up once and I got up around 10:30, I think, maybe a bit earlier.

I knitted! I was so sorry I decided not to take the shawl with me to the hospital. It's not that hard a pattern and I had all kinds of quiet time where I could have concentrated. Oh well. I only did two rows, because the nurse called and said she would be here between 12:00 and 12;30, and I wanted to eat before she came.

I'm moving slow. Most of the stamina I'd built up before last week is gone and I'm starting over. I needed to feed the cats, but I did manage to make and eat my breakfast before the nurse arrived.

She is another nice person. She repacked my wound (the one under my right arm) and we had a good discussion about the Wound Vac. She showed me how to replace the canister that holds the stuff, and it's a good thing. We checked, and the one I have in place is close to full. In fact, I am going to take another one with me up to the north end tonight, just in case. It's an easy thing to change, but it has to be done quickly so that the unit isn't off for too long. So far I'm all right, but I don't trust it. Tomorrow, the dressing will be changed.

Otherwise, I did nothing. Sundays are like that when I don't go to church.

The weather was nondescript but not very good. The temperature was nearly steady around 42º and there wasn't much wind at all. It was cloudy and dark and gray. The humidity was over 75% all day, which would have left me creaky anyway. Oh, and it looks suspiciously to me like WU has abandoned Internet Explorer, too, which means I will be using Firefox even more than I thought. Humph.

The guys were sleepy, of course, but they both got a lot of lap time after the nurse left. I don't think my lap is the most comfortable place for them to sleep, because eventually they get up and go away.

So that was all. I was so reluctant to move that I just finished eating at 10:30. Well - it was partly that and partly because I had to wash a pan and a dish in order to eat. Obviously, I didn't get the dishes washed again. Tomorrow, maybe? I hope so.

Now it's a dark, cold night in the field and I need sleep.

October 6

I didn't notice exactly when I got to bed last night, but it was after 10:30 and before midnight - or I think so. It wasn't easy. The only plug I could reach to plug in my vac is on the front wall of the bedroom, which means I have to walk all the way around the bed to put it in and take it out. Oh, and the directions say you should unplug it from that plug. Now, that one I'm ignoring, mostly because it's stupid, but also because the plug is very hard to get in and out of a receptacle and I'm weak.

Getting up to pee was a pain - I had to unplug the pump, wrap up the hoses and the straps and try to get to the bathroom - I kept my cane with me last night - and then when I was done, I reversed. That was harder, because of the weird way I get into bed, Then, once the pump was connected to power and in a relatively safe spot, I could figure out where I was going to be, making sure the hose was properly arrayed. What a pain!

I woke up around 8:30 and decided that was too early to do anything but take my pill, but the nurse woke me at 9:30, so I got up and took a bath, which felt so good! My hair looked like it was wet before I got in the shower, it was so oily, and I hate that. The only mishap I had was that I tried to restart the pump before I unclamped the hose, but it told me that very gently. And the nurse later told me she's done that many times herself. There is a joint in the hose so one can take baths and things, but it needs to be clamped on either side before it's opened.

I didn't have time to eat before the nurse got here, but that was all right, although I was hungry by the time I ate. Getting "admitted" to home care wasn't a problem this time, since nothing had changed from the last time. She repacked my right side before she left and she agreed with me that it needs to be done every day, to make sure it heals properly and doesn't get infected again, so I guess I'll see a nurse tomorrow, too.

Other than that and talking to several people, I didn't do much. I've been having a problem with one of my comics sites all week, so I finally threw in the towel and installed Firefox. I'm not very impressed, because it lacks some of the functionality I use in IE, but it runs faster and the website that had broken works very well. Why any large website would not support IE, I don't know.

Ron came with my Schwan's order and he was kind enough to help me get it packed away, so now I have lots to eat again. I had screwed up the order and gotten two boxes of ice cream bars, so I gave him one. I have enough. I do have some great friends.

The weather wasn't great. The high temperature was 48º, around noon, and there was a northeast wind in the 10-20 mph range. It rained overnight, but not a lot. It was dark and cloudy and dull.

The guys were all over me today. They both got lots of lap time and they were both very happy about it. But then Grayson decided to get shirty, so he got chastised. He does not run this place. Louie would have been happier if we hadn't had visitors.

So that was my quiet day, and it sure was nice. I hope for lots of those in the next few weeks so that I can heal in peace. I'm not having too much pain, but my scars are stiff and bothersome. That will pass eventually, and it will be better when I get rid of the fluid and whatever infection is left. I'm still tired and I can't walk very well yet. That's annoying, because I was doing so well before I got infected again.

Now I'm going to at least see if maybe I can start a load of dishes washing. I am flat out of clean dishes, except for the good china. It's a dark, cloudy, cold night in the field.

October 5

Before I begin, today would have been my father's 106th birthday. Happy Birthday, daddy!

Well, I'm home. I'm exhausted and frustrated and the whole thing, but I'm here. I'll recap fand then I can move on.

The surgery wasn't Wednesday night. I don't know the reasons, but I imagine it was a combination of how many emergencies the doctor had that day and how late I was getting back to the hospital - it was almost 7:30. It was scheduled for 7:00 yesterday morning.

I didn't get admitted and into my room until after the kitchen closed, and it wasn't until after 9:30 that I got a bologna salad sandwich and some fruit to eat. Then I tried to get to sleep in a bed that is about a third the size of the one I usually sleep in, and it was so cold in the room that I froze until sometime around 4:30 or so, I think - i forget now. Of course, they had me up early for vitals and they took me down to the OR not long after 6:00. I did get to inform the perky nurse who let me go home the first time that she had screwed up, not for that but for not noticing the drainage from under my right arm. I had a different nurse in recovery.

The surgery was successful but fairly long. There was a massive hematoma that had formed about where the breast tissue came out and it had gotten infected at the edges, so there was a lot of sopping up and cleaning out that they had to do.

After that it was a matter of recovery. The only glitch was that my hemoglobin dropped off quite a bit after the surgery and it worried the doctor, so they gave me a unit of blood. That seemed to help, but this morning, the levels were down again and so they gave me more. By then I had remembered that I've had problems with that before after major surgery, but I never did get to talk to the doctor today. He was off in Wisconsin or something. Oh, and last night, I got hot blankets to keep me warm and they finally - finally!! - turned the heat up over 70º. so I wasn't freezing.

The final straws were trying to pry the portable Wound Vac out of Medicare and the company that makes it and in getting my antibiotics, so I didn't get home until after 6:30, totally exhausted and frustrated.

While I was waiting, I read the instruction manual that came with the Wound Vac, and it is by far one of the worst manuals I have ever, ever read. According to them, you are supposed to keep it plugged in at all times, except that it does have a battery. You are supposed to keep it "upright" except that it is shaped sort of like a slightly curved 2" book (and weighs more) and it has no flat bottom to keep it upright and you might lay it flat on a table. I wanted to hurl the manual out the nearest window before I finally gave up. Sheesh! I'm hoping to get some tips from home care when I see them tomorrow, because my first abscess still needs packing. Sheesh. It does work, and the fluid left in my chest is already decreasing. I've been on the antibiotic (IV until I got home) again, and the infection is going fast.

Oh, and I'm going to have enough clindamicyn to swim in, because somebody at the hospital (or doctor's office?) ordered it from the mail order pharmacy before the nurses could get it from the hospital pharmacy, and that caused a delay of about two hours with the idiot prescription service I use. No wonder I tried to go through the back of the garage when I got home. I think the car is all right, but the back wall of the garage isn't.

The weather for the past three days was really interesting. It was very windy, rainy and warm Wednesday night, but the temperature dropped from 62º at 10:00 to 44º at 4:00 AM Thursday, when the wind was gusting up to 49 mph. I think we had a power failure. At least the fridge was blinking. Yesterday was colder, with a high of 47º, but dry. Today the temperature has finally risen to 43º, and there was 0.22" of precip - some here was sleet, according to Mary Ann, and there were snowflakes in Calumet which, fortunately, I didn't see. Yuck.

When i was moving the stuff to the platform tonight, Grayson was watching, and I thought I would get it all in all right, but then on my last load, he bolted out the door. So i screamed at him and proceeded to ignore him until he came back to the door looking sad. What a rat fink. And then he expected me to welcome him onto my lap! Ha! Louie would have sat, but I had taken off my jeans, and I didn't want his prickers on my bare skin. So he has been sitting and waiting and I expect to have cats tonight. Maybe tomorrow I will relent and pet Grayson. Not tonight.

Now I have to move some stuff off the bed so I can sleep in it and figure out what to do with this thing I am currently wearing around my neck. It has a case and a strap, but the strap wants to ride up around my neck and it's very uncomfortable. And I'm not exactly sure what I'll do with it tonight to keep it close enough for the tubing and safe from falling on the floor. The plug is extremely difficult to plug in and unplug and the unit is very heavy - not like the old continuous infusion pump I used back in 1998. And I'll have to figure out what to do with it when I have to get up. It is attached to me, so I can't just leave it behind most of the time. I will be able to clamp it off (with clamps I can hardly use) when I have to take a bath, though. We'll see how that works tomorrow, I think. I really need a bath.

So it was another experience. Care at the hospital is excellent, the food is mediocre at best, and the equipment is not the best. I'm so glad to be home!

Oh, yeah, and the camera hung up around 4:30 this afternoon. Now it's a dark, cold night in the field, but it's good to be here.

October 3

Just so nobody panics completely, I'm on my way back to the hospital. There has been a lot of fluid buildup in my chest, under the skin, that seems to be infected, that has to be drained. It's another surgical procedure. Not what I wanted!

I think I may be back home tomorrow, but if you don't hear from me, you'll know why. I'm not going to haul the laptop around just in case.

I'll be back soon.

October 2

I made it into bed by 11:30 last night and I got up at 9:45, so I should have had enough sleep. I knitted three more rows after the nurse said he wouldn't be here until after 4:00.

I did my surfing, and I realized I was feeling rather lousy, but after I took my bath, it was a bit better, or I thought so.

My wounds look OK, but there is a lot of fluid building up in my chest, away from the drain, and when he took my temperature, I am running a small temperature - about 1.5º. This isn't a good sign, but I refuse to go to the emergency room. I'm not in quite that bad shape yet. I'll be interested to see what it is. My nose has been running like a sieve and I have a headache that comes and goes, but it doesn't feel quite like a cold.

Well, it seems like I take two steps forward and one step back. Sigh.

The weather was not too bad. The high temperature was 55º, and there was a light wind. It was mostly sunny in the middle of the day, but by 4:30 it had clouded up. I guess it's supposed to be a lot warmer and rain tomorrow. Yuck.

The guys were both clingy. They know, don't they, even when i don't. Grayson slept on my lap for a long time and Louie got some lap time, too. They don't like the disruption of my schedule. They want things the same.

So tomorrow I'll be off to the doctor (appointment at 3:00). The bulletin stuff just came in, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Really. Now. It's a sort of warmish, cloudy night in the field.

October 1

So I was even later last night. I slept very well, and I didn't get up until around 10:00. I was awake around 8:00, but I didn't think that was enough sleep. The extra two hours wasn't either.

I didn't knit, and I was still eating when the occupational therapist arrived. She is a nice young woman who is pregnant. We talked and I showed her most of what I do to compensate for my disabilities, and I assured her that the surgery didn't make anything very much worse, so I don't really think she needs to worry about me. She seemed to agree.

Then the nurse came. This was the one I hadn't met - a guy. He was nice, but he decided he should poke around in my right side, and evidently there is still quite a hole there. It's healing, but it's going to take a while. He was going to report to the doctor what he found. I only hope he didn't cause it to start draining again, but I haven't looked at my bra yet.

All that activity, especially walking up and down the house, really did me in, even though I felt fine this morning. I'm so tired that I wasn't even hungry, although I did try to eat my dinner, and I did most of it. I was so tired that I didn't do anything I'd thought about - especially the dishes. Tomorrow I really have to do them, to at least get some clean things to eat off of. It will take two loads, I'm sure. I just couldn't. Part of it may be that I was in need of food, but I'm still very tired. So I'm doing better, but I have no stamina. I'm sure that will continue for a while. After all, it's only been three weeks tomorrow...

I rebooted the computer. I simply could not get one of my comics sites to work right, and the way it was not working led me to wonder if the problem was my computer. Well, it isn't. And of course, there is no way to get to their tech support to tell them they have a problem. It was annoying. I wanted to do the reboot anyway, actually. For the past couple of days, I've been having trouble with my mouse going down. I don't think it's the mouse's problem - I think it's either a problem with Windows or with the USB port cluster. Anyway, it was annoying, and it hasn't done that once since I rebooted, so I think it's another data leakage problem...maybe they will fix it in the October updates.

The weather was so-so. The high temperature was 48º and there wasn't much wind. The humidity was in the 70s for most of the day. it was cloudy all day, although there was some lightening at sunset - same as many days lately. it made for a rather dramatic late evening, before it got dark.

The guys were themselves. However, Louie liked the occupational therapist. He didn't make over her like he does Mary Ann, but she has a dog, and he clearly like the smell. I wonder if he shared his previous home with a dog. He ran away when the nurse came. Grayson made a pest of himself for both of them. He wants to be noticed, and he'll do almost anything to see that he is, including annoying me. Little snot. He wanted some of my dinner, too, but he didn't get any. Tomorrow I really have to order some cat food. I'm out of their favorite kind of kibble, and I might as well get some canned food, too.

I may very well look into getting some stuff like laundry detergent and fabric softener, too. Walmart will deliver it, and their prices are much lower than Pat's or even Amazon. I think Amazon has ceded things like household items - soap, toilet paper, etc. - to Walmart. At least, Walmart has been consistently cheaper for the past six to nine months. That's fine with me - Walmart uses FedEx exclusively for their shipping, and they will deliver to my house even in the wintertime. Ron and I had a confrontation about that. He told the FedEx people they could leave packages at the post office, and I told him, no way. I need them to deliver to my door. He was trying to be nice to the FedEx delivery people, not thinking about me. Ron is a nice guy, but he's a guy, and he is that way.

Anyway, now it's October and winter is on its way, hopefully not for another six to eight weeks, but it's coming. Now it's a dark, cloudy night in the field.

Last updated 11/01/19 11:39 PM