Seven Spade Work
Monday, December 5th, 2022 10:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioLast Time Dad was in the Hospital, I wasn't allowed to visit him, and I had not started work yet at Grape Elementary. I did have Snoop & Prowly, but they were brand new, and not allowed downstairs yet.
You may recall, I simply hung out on the side porch for a few hours each night, to keep Yvette company downstairs... and I walked her several times a day. I also had plenty of time to spend with the kittens... and was only out of the house to run this or that quick errand.
--<>--
This time around, things are different, and today was my first weekday, trying to figure out a routine that I may have to keep up for most of December!
I was on my feet by 10:30AM. By 11AM, with my coffee, I went downstairs and walked Yvette. It was a long, 30 minute walk.
After that I left her with some Good 'n Fun Kabobs and went upstairs to spend 90 minutes with the cats.
But at 1PM it was straight out the door and over to the hospital to visit Dad, bringing him the day's newspaper.
I found him sitting in a recliner today so... that was some progress! He seemed pretty alert too. I got to talk to a physical therapist who said he'd stood and took several steps today, as well.
The old Catholic chaplain showed up to chat with him. He gave him last rights and holy communion... which sounds a bit scary, but... for a devout Catholic like Dad, it's like getting a spiritual oil change, and having the air in your tires topped off!
There's still no target date for his discharge, which means he still has time to improve enough to get sent home with home care, rather than to a rehab facility. But... the odds of that still look slim.
I do think, however, he will be home before Christmas.
--<>--
At 2PM, I said goodbye to Dad and then made my way across town to work... fielding a call from my sister Sheila as I approached the school.
We chatted for a bit after I pulled in, because I was, thankfully, ten minutes early.
It was a pretty routine day at Grape Elementary, but by quitting time I did realize I'd forgotten my gloves!
This was a problem, because the plan was to walk Yvette the minute I got home... without going upstairs first.
But I needed to stop for beer, and luckily there was a dollar store next to the liquor store, that was open, and I bought a cheep pair of gloves there!
--<>--
I was back home at 7:30PM.
I entered by the side porch door and found, to my horror, that I'd forgotten to lock this door before I'd left!
Yvette was excited to see me, but also seemed distressed and gave out a dry cough... which caused me to check her water bowl and I saw... once more to my horror... that it was dry! I'd forgotten to fill it before I left!
So I filled it. She drank. Then we went for our walk.
I fed her a few Good 'n Funs after the walk, topped off the water again, and sat with her down in the kitchen until 8:15PM.
--<>--
At 8:16, I was upstairs with the cats, feeding them their nightly can of moist food. They were a bit confused that we weren't going downstairs first.
I hung out with the cats upstairs for an hour, petting them both in my lap, in turn.
And then I cleaned their litter boxes before going BACK downstairs to take Yvette for one last walk at around 9:30PM.
I topped off her water again, and gave her three more Good 'n Funs, to last the night... and finally went back up stairs at 10PM to settle in for the evening.
--<>--
And that's the new routine I'm gonna have to stick to for the next week or three!
Tomorrow I'll remember the gloves, the water bowl, and to lock the door... as well as to bring myself a granola bar to eat on my break.
And I am quite glad that all the outdoor lights, including the Christmas lights, are on timers.
It's not a fun routine, BUT...
This is still WAAAAY better than how things were when I used to work at the hospital in Elgin, and be gone for 11 hours a day!
I used to have no choice but to use PTO for Dad's hospital stays, because to work through them would've meant not visiting him at all, and leaving the pets alone for 11 hours!
This is the first time ever, that I can actually go to work, when Dad's in the hospital, and still give him, Yvette, and my cats, a half-decent amount of attention per day!
The part time job was the right call!
------------{=0=}------------
Okay, so in my 90 minutes upstairs before leaving to visit Dad... and later, in the hour I had up here before Yvette's final walk for the night... I did get the Seven of Spade card started.
The seven-cards house the midpoints, between solstices and equinoxes, and the Seven of Spades is JAN 29 - FEB 04.
That covers Imolc, Candlemas, the Feast of Saint Brigid, and Groundhog day... all of which are either celebrated on FEB 1st or 2nd.
There's no details or shading yet, but the composition is kinda coming together. The strange object in the sky is a, Saint Brigid's Cross... made of wicker, or grass.
Then we have three candles for Candlemas... their candlesticks being made of spades.
And of course I had to throw in a groundhog.
I'll be fleshing this one out the next few days.
And then maybe I'll tackle May Day next... Seven of Hearts.
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
You may recall, I simply hung out on the side porch for a few hours each night, to keep Yvette company downstairs... and I walked her several times a day. I also had plenty of time to spend with the kittens... and was only out of the house to run this or that quick errand.
This time around, things are different, and today was my first weekday, trying to figure out a routine that I may have to keep up for most of December!
I was on my feet by 10:30AM. By 11AM, with my coffee, I went downstairs and walked Yvette. It was a long, 30 minute walk.
After that I left her with some Good 'n Fun Kabobs and went upstairs to spend 90 minutes with the cats.
But at 1PM it was straight out the door and over to the hospital to visit Dad, bringing him the day's newspaper.
I found him sitting in a recliner today so... that was some progress! He seemed pretty alert too. I got to talk to a physical therapist who said he'd stood and took several steps today, as well.
The old Catholic chaplain showed up to chat with him. He gave him last rights and holy communion... which sounds a bit scary, but... for a devout Catholic like Dad, it's like getting a spiritual oil change, and having the air in your tires topped off!
There's still no target date for his discharge, which means he still has time to improve enough to get sent home with home care, rather than to a rehab facility. But... the odds of that still look slim.
I do think, however, he will be home before Christmas.
At 2PM, I said goodbye to Dad and then made my way across town to work... fielding a call from my sister Sheila as I approached the school.
We chatted for a bit after I pulled in, because I was, thankfully, ten minutes early.
It was a pretty routine day at Grape Elementary, but by quitting time I did realize I'd forgotten my gloves!
This was a problem, because the plan was to walk Yvette the minute I got home... without going upstairs first.
But I needed to stop for beer, and luckily there was a dollar store next to the liquor store, that was open, and I bought a cheep pair of gloves there!
I was back home at 7:30PM.
I entered by the side porch door and found, to my horror, that I'd forgotten to lock this door before I'd left!
Yvette was excited to see me, but also seemed distressed and gave out a dry cough... which caused me to check her water bowl and I saw... once more to my horror... that it was dry! I'd forgotten to fill it before I left!
So I filled it. She drank. Then we went for our walk.
I fed her a few Good 'n Funs after the walk, topped off the water again, and sat with her down in the kitchen until 8:15PM.
At 8:16, I was upstairs with the cats, feeding them their nightly can of moist food. They were a bit confused that we weren't going downstairs first.
I hung out with the cats upstairs for an hour, petting them both in my lap, in turn.
And then I cleaned their litter boxes before going BACK downstairs to take Yvette for one last walk at around 9:30PM.
I topped off her water again, and gave her three more Good 'n Funs, to last the night... and finally went back up stairs at 10PM to settle in for the evening.
And that's the new routine I'm gonna have to stick to for the next week or three!
Tomorrow I'll remember the gloves, the water bowl, and to lock the door... as well as to bring myself a granola bar to eat on my break.
And I am quite glad that all the outdoor lights, including the Christmas lights, are on timers.
It's not a fun routine, BUT...
This is still WAAAAY better than how things were when I used to work at the hospital in Elgin, and be gone for 11 hours a day!
I used to have no choice but to use PTO for Dad's hospital stays, because to work through them would've meant not visiting him at all, and leaving the pets alone for 11 hours!
This is the first time ever, that I can actually go to work, when Dad's in the hospital, and still give him, Yvette, and my cats, a half-decent amount of attention per day!
The part time job was the right call!
Okay, so in my 90 minutes upstairs before leaving to visit Dad... and later, in the hour I had up here before Yvette's final walk for the night... I did get the Seven of Spade card started.
The seven-cards house the midpoints, between solstices and equinoxes, and the Seven of Spades is JAN 29 - FEB 04.
That covers Imolc, Candlemas, the Feast of Saint Brigid, and Groundhog day... all of which are either celebrated on FEB 1st or 2nd.
There's no details or shading yet, but the composition is kinda coming together. The strange object in the sky is a, Saint Brigid's Cross... made of wicker, or grass.
Then we have three candles for Candlemas... their candlesticks being made of spades.
And of course I had to throw in a groundhog.
I'll be fleshing this one out the next few days.
And then maybe I'll tackle May Day next... Seven of Hearts.
°¦}
