Grocery Night
Wednesday, December 7th, 2022 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioIt's been pretty mild this past week, up in the 40sF during the day, and it's gonna stay that way into next week, even maybe hitting 50F one of the days. And that's been helpful with both the dog and the cats.
For the cats, it means I've been able to leave the casement window ajar all day, and even at night... so that they can crawl onto the sill and see the world in full stereo sound and full... smell?
Whatever, they've been hanging out in that window since I first adopted them last August, so now... that I'm not around as much... and when they're suddenly no longer allowed downstairs... it's good that they still have this window to pass the time in.
For the dog, it just means our morning walks can be long and lingering, and I'm not freezing to death. I can sip my coffee and eat a breakfast bar, then smoke a cig or two on the morning walk... and then even the late night walk is really mild.
--<>--
Dad was not in very good spirits today. They're about to discharge him, maybe tomorrow... to a rehab center, and he's not happy about it.
But hopefully, once he's there, he'll brighten up a bit? It looks like a top notch facility... very spaceous and pretty, with nice furniture, and hopefully a really competent staff.
It's also on the same side of town as Grape Elementary... only 12 minutes away. So that makes it easier for me to see him before work.
We'll just have to see how he takes to it, but I still don't know for sure when the transition is going down.
--<>--
Back at home, Yvette seems to be slipping into a depression... it now being five days since she's seen Dad. I left her with four Good 'n Funs before I left for work today, and she didn't eat a single one... or drink any water today.
And tonight I had to go get groceries at Aldi after work... which meant I didn't get home until 8PM, instead of 7:30.
On our 8PM walk, she just sat down in the grass out front for 20 minutes... then back inside, did not eat another Good 'n Fun I offered to her.
I hung with her for about five more minutes, but had to get the damn groceries upstairs... five bags... all paid for with SNAP!
--<>--
SNAP gave me $48.00 late in November, but another $48.00 hit the LINK card yesterday, on the 6th, so, I went into Aldi with $96.00 to spend tonight... and I spent $87.00 in total!
SNAP even covered my coffee... which was a surprise. So All I paid was 52 cents, for the five paper bags!
--<>--
After getting all the groceries put away, I called my sister Sheila and we talked for a couple hours, mostly about Dad's situation.
She thinks he'll rebound at rehab, but I'm not so certain. We both agreed that there's a very real possibility that this hip fracture could be the end of the road for him.
He could wind up in a nursing home after rehab... if getting back on his feet proves too difficult. And if he does... he could go downhill fast.
Once you're not really moving anymore, at 88, and especially if you're depressed because you can't be home... other health issues start to mount up... until there's a cascading failure... you know... bed soars, UTI, pneumonia, etcetera.
So, we looked up a lawyer in the area that I'll call on Friday... to get the ball rolling for whatever is legally necessary to insure the house passes from him to me upon his death, without going into probate, or anything.
--<>--
It's something Dad and I have been talking about doing for years... and something all my siblings have agreed with for years. But we've just never gotten around to it.
And as things stand, he still owes on the house, for another five years, before it's paid off.
And his existing will is from the 1980s, when me and my younger brother were still in grade school! It says that my eldest brother, Kevin has to make sure we finish our education!.. and leaves us nothing!
So... yeah! We need to make sure that if he dies, I can stay here, and pay off the existing mortgage, and own the house at the end of it.
--<>--
Maybe Dad will return home this month, and go on to outlive his dog before he passes on.
But if the only thing that comes out of this is that we did contact that lawyer and straighten all of this out in late 2022... it will have been worth it, in the end.
Tomorrow's another day, and we'll see how this story plays out.
------------{=0=}------------
Got a litte more work done on Seven Spades today...
I had to color correct the background pine trees, because the snow on them looked yellow, compared to the snow in the foreground.
And that was more involved than you might think, because the candlesticks from yesterday were already merged to that background. So... had to go back a few steps to fix the trees and then re-shade the candlestick from scratch.
And I did add the most basic bit of detail to the St. Brigid's Cross... just to advance that past the... blob of poop brown, that it had been!
Also took some time on the candle flames, to make them more flamelike.
I think this will be a very nice card, when it's done!
But it's definitely taking some time to get right!
But that's how it goes, with hidden midpoint holidays, I guess!
There's no, one, clear thing they're recognized for... but there's lots of interesting iconography to them... if you dig into their history.
So you end up with a weird grab bag like this... that I'm trying to tie into one decent composition.
I think at it's heart, what's really being celebrated at this midpoint is... "High Winter."
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
For the cats, it means I've been able to leave the casement window ajar all day, and even at night... so that they can crawl onto the sill and see the world in full stereo sound and full... smell?
Whatever, they've been hanging out in that window since I first adopted them last August, so now... that I'm not around as much... and when they're suddenly no longer allowed downstairs... it's good that they still have this window to pass the time in.
For the dog, it just means our morning walks can be long and lingering, and I'm not freezing to death. I can sip my coffee and eat a breakfast bar, then smoke a cig or two on the morning walk... and then even the late night walk is really mild.
Dad was not in very good spirits today. They're about to discharge him, maybe tomorrow... to a rehab center, and he's not happy about it.
But hopefully, once he's there, he'll brighten up a bit? It looks like a top notch facility... very spaceous and pretty, with nice furniture, and hopefully a really competent staff.
It's also on the same side of town as Grape Elementary... only 12 minutes away. So that makes it easier for me to see him before work.
We'll just have to see how he takes to it, but I still don't know for sure when the transition is going down.
Back at home, Yvette seems to be slipping into a depression... it now being five days since she's seen Dad. I left her with four Good 'n Funs before I left for work today, and she didn't eat a single one... or drink any water today.
And tonight I had to go get groceries at Aldi after work... which meant I didn't get home until 8PM, instead of 7:30.
On our 8PM walk, she just sat down in the grass out front for 20 minutes... then back inside, did not eat another Good 'n Fun I offered to her.
I hung with her for about five more minutes, but had to get the damn groceries upstairs... five bags... all paid for with SNAP!
SNAP gave me $48.00 late in November, but another $48.00 hit the LINK card yesterday, on the 6th, so, I went into Aldi with $96.00 to spend tonight... and I spent $87.00 in total!
SNAP even covered my coffee... which was a surprise. So All I paid was 52 cents, for the five paper bags!
After getting all the groceries put away, I called my sister Sheila and we talked for a couple hours, mostly about Dad's situation.
She thinks he'll rebound at rehab, but I'm not so certain. We both agreed that there's a very real possibility that this hip fracture could be the end of the road for him.
He could wind up in a nursing home after rehab... if getting back on his feet proves too difficult. And if he does... he could go downhill fast.
Once you're not really moving anymore, at 88, and especially if you're depressed because you can't be home... other health issues start to mount up... until there's a cascading failure... you know... bed soars, UTI, pneumonia, etcetera.
So, we looked up a lawyer in the area that I'll call on Friday... to get the ball rolling for whatever is legally necessary to insure the house passes from him to me upon his death, without going into probate, or anything.
It's something Dad and I have been talking about doing for years... and something all my siblings have agreed with for years. But we've just never gotten around to it.
And as things stand, he still owes on the house, for another five years, before it's paid off.
And his existing will is from the 1980s, when me and my younger brother were still in grade school! It says that my eldest brother, Kevin has to make sure we finish our education!.. and leaves us nothing!
So... yeah! We need to make sure that if he dies, I can stay here, and pay off the existing mortgage, and own the house at the end of it.
Maybe Dad will return home this month, and go on to outlive his dog before he passes on.
But if the only thing that comes out of this is that we did contact that lawyer and straighten all of this out in late 2022... it will have been worth it, in the end.
Tomorrow's another day, and we'll see how this story plays out.
Got a litte more work done on Seven Spades today...
I had to color correct the background pine trees, because the snow on them looked yellow, compared to the snow in the foreground.
And that was more involved than you might think, because the candlesticks from yesterday were already merged to that background. So... had to go back a few steps to fix the trees and then re-shade the candlestick from scratch.
And I did add the most basic bit of detail to the St. Brigid's Cross... just to advance that past the... blob of poop brown, that it had been!
Also took some time on the candle flames, to make them more flamelike.
I think this will be a very nice card, when it's done!
But it's definitely taking some time to get right!
But that's how it goes, with hidden midpoint holidays, I guess!
There's no, one, clear thing they're recognized for... but there's lots of interesting iconography to them... if you dig into their history.
So you end up with a weird grab bag like this... that I'm trying to tie into one decent composition.
I think at it's heart, what's really being celebrated at this midpoint is... "High Winter."
°¦}
