Big Crazy Monday
Monday, January 9th, 2023 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snoozefestaudioI allowed myself to sleep-in a bit today, thinking it might be okay, with Tim downstairs, but... Kyangela showed up to bathe Dad while I was still taking a crap upstairs with the coffeemaker going.
She had to wait for me to get downstairs to let her in, because Tim was dead asleep in the back room, and then while she was bathing Dad, I took Yvette for a walk.
Kyangela was still here when we got back, so after she left I put the rags, shirt, and old bedding into the washer and got that started, knowing a nurse was gonna show up around 11:30AM.
I tried to research that gas wall heater but didn't get very far, so I washed some dishes and took out some garbage.
--<>--
Tim was finally up and around by the time the Nurse was done with Dad.
His vitals were normal, but she was new to our scene and concerned about him aspirating liquid... and trying to sell us on thickened water... again, as they did at the hospital and the rehab center.
I humored her, knowing Dad will never drink that shit, and doesn't have to, now that he's on hospice, but Tim was concerned and asked if special sippy cups could help.
Somehow in their chat, she wanted to have a look at his DNR papers, in the hospice folder, but they weren't there!
I panicked, because they were supposed to be in that folder!.. along with the papers giving me power of attorney for Dad!
I found them on top of the MIRCORWAVE! Fucking SHEILA had stuck them there, in her tornadic assault on the kitchen last week!
The nurse reminded me that we were supposed to have a copy stuck on the side of the fridge, and then we all looked over at Dad's fridge in the corner and... of the two exposed faces... the front was covered top to bottom in souveneir magnets dating back thirty years...
And the side was covered top to bottom in ancient, yellowed, childrens drawings... dating back thirty years!
I looked at Tim and said, "It's time to lose all the garbage on the fridge!"
So, after the nurse left... Tim did want to go over the kid's drawings... probably hoping to save any from his own kids that might be particularly exceptional... but, after two minutes he left it to me.
I threw out all but a dozen magnets, and, with them on the table, cleaned the sides of the fridge... then put the magnets back, and finally stuck up the DNR papers alone on the side face with a big elephant magnet to hold them in place.
--<>--
After that, Tim and I hung out in the back room until about 12:45PM, mostly concerned with the money situation.
Not much food for either of us, and it looked like our best hope was the list of food pantries the social worker had left me last week. But in order for Tim to go tour the food pantries, we needed to fix the flat tire on Dad's car.
Tim said he'd do some YouTube research to find out the proper jack point for Dad's car, and how that particular jack works, so we could do it first thing tomorrow, when it's a bit warmer outside.
I went upstairs to hang with the cats before work, and we had a good hour and ten minutes... the first ten of which I spent finally vacuuming up here for the first time in a couple months!
--<>--
At 2:10PM I went downstairs to check in with Dad and Tim before I left for work.
Tim took Yvette out for a walk as I got into my van and headed out.
It was SOOO nice, to clock in at the normal time, at a fully lit Grape Elementary, full of kids and teachers and life again!
About an hour in, I got to thinking about my LINK card... with the SNAP money on it.
It had been a while since I'd used it. Maybe I should stop at Aldi tonight and get whatever food I could for myself and Tim.
I called the 800 number on the back of the card to check the balance, expecting it to be like $50.00 or so... and was shocked to hear the robot lady say I had $495.00 on the card!
It didn't make any sense!
I thought my benefit was only $48.00 a month!
Didn't I just use it in December?... wait!.. maybe that was November? Either way, how the fuck was there almost $500.00???
I still have to figure that out, but I texted Tim to tell him the good news and he told me he'd managed to wrangle himself another $200.00 in web design payments while I was out!
So... OKAY!
--<>--
After work I went to Aldi and got a shit ton of groceries. I basically got everything I'd get for myself on a BIG run... but DOUBLE!
The cart was full, but the bill was only $198.00... all but $11.00 of which was paid for by SNAP!
It took a while to bag up the eight bags of food, but I made sure to clone the two groups of four bags, so that Tim would get one, "copy," of the groceries, and I'd get the other.
And I folded and rolled handles into the paper bags so that Tim's, "copy," all rolled toward the Aldi logo, on the front of the bags, and the handles of my, "copy," all rolled away from the logo, toward the back of the bags.
One more quick stop to Walgreens for cat food and then I made it back home around 8:30PM... two hours later than has been the norm the past two weeks.
It took until 9:30 to get all the bags in... for Tim to put away his copy... for me to walk Yvette... and to finally sit down with Dad for a beer and a smoke.
He wasn't quite as lively today as yesterday, but he did participate in our little gathering in his room until about 10:30PM.
--<>--
Checking the four mousetraps I'd set last night, I saw that on all four, the peanut butter had been licked clean! Three of the traps never sprung, and a fourth did spring, but did not catch a mouse!
I told Tim we had killed all the dumb ones, and now we were dealing with a, "clever girl," in a reference to Jurassic Park.
I reset the four traps with peanuts, that I'd just bought. When you jam a solid peanut into the bait mount, that usually foils the smart ones! I'd learned this in the great mouse invasion of 2018.
--<>--
As we hung out in the back room, drinking and talking, we heard one trap spring!.. then a second!.. then a third!
I should point out, because this has become an ongoing topic, that snap traps are the most humane on the market, because they kill the mice instantly.
I know it may seem gruesome, but they are humane, and... it IS, us or them!
I'd prefer to have my Cats catch and eat them... which is the most natural way to deal with the situation... but Yvette stands in the way of that, and there's not much I can do about it!
All of that said, tonight's three, clever, dead mice, brought the kill-total up to... eight or nine? And one was a baby! So... that says there are likely a LOT more!
This is what happens when an old man, in an old house, has a gross dog, and no cats!
And as always... it's up to ME to slay the dragon!
------------{=0=}------------
Today was Tim's second full day here... but his first one after a solid night's sleep in a warm room.
As we talked out in the back room, he related that he was already coming around to my point of view about Dad being... on the way out.
Dad slept most of the day, and wasn't very engaged with Tim when he was awake. It didn't seem right to try and rouse him for exercise, or cajole him to eat food... though he did have a few spoonfuls of ice cream, and then a cracker and some cheese hours later.
We talked strategy as well. Now that the food situation is taken care of, we looked at the money we had at our disposal, between him, me, and Dad.
The plan is to get the spare tire on Dad's car tomorrow, and then Tim will take the main tire to get plugged, if possible, and also drive the car in for it's emissions test. After that, we'll renew the registration, and it should be a viable vehicle for him, or anybody else to use, while staying here.
--<>--
Kevin arrives tomorrow... at some point... and there's a bit of bad blood between Tim and Kevin, so Tim would like to have the car to go visit a few old friends, as an excuse to get away from time to time.
Because Kevin is finally gonna be here, Brian texted to say he'll be coming out on Thursday!
Brian, the brother who never shows up for anything... WILL show up to see his big brother Kevin, because he still idolizes him.
Tim and Brian also have some bad blood so... more reason for Tim to have the getaway car working this week.
Colleen will be here next Monday, and... thankfully, she and Tim do get along, so, next week should be a little more harmonious than this week looks to be.
--<>--
But I found out today that I will have Monday off, because it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and that's one of my paid holidays, when the school is closed! So... I'm about to have another three-day weekend, which is a bonus!
But this whole week has to unfold before that weekend can happen, and it's only Monday.
--<>--
I didn't get upstairs with my copy of the groceries until almost midnight, so it's a good thing I had that hour with the cats before work today.
After putting away my copy of the groceries, I cleaned their litter boxes. And with the flat freshly vacuumed earlier in the day... things are looking okay up here!
--<>--
That's about all there is to report on this big, crazy Monday.
I did get a bit of a start on Three Spades today. Maybe I'll have it done by the weekend.
And I also bought a pack of Aviator playing cards at Walgreens... because I'm apparently collecting different playing card decks now?
Why not?
°¦}
https://soundcloud.com/snoozefestaudio
She had to wait for me to get downstairs to let her in, because Tim was dead asleep in the back room, and then while she was bathing Dad, I took Yvette for a walk.
Kyangela was still here when we got back, so after she left I put the rags, shirt, and old bedding into the washer and got that started, knowing a nurse was gonna show up around 11:30AM.
I tried to research that gas wall heater but didn't get very far, so I washed some dishes and took out some garbage.
Tim was finally up and around by the time the Nurse was done with Dad.
His vitals were normal, but she was new to our scene and concerned about him aspirating liquid... and trying to sell us on thickened water... again, as they did at the hospital and the rehab center.
I humored her, knowing Dad will never drink that shit, and doesn't have to, now that he's on hospice, but Tim was concerned and asked if special sippy cups could help.
Somehow in their chat, she wanted to have a look at his DNR papers, in the hospice folder, but they weren't there!
I panicked, because they were supposed to be in that folder!.. along with the papers giving me power of attorney for Dad!
I found them on top of the MIRCORWAVE! Fucking SHEILA had stuck them there, in her tornadic assault on the kitchen last week!
The nurse reminded me that we were supposed to have a copy stuck on the side of the fridge, and then we all looked over at Dad's fridge in the corner and... of the two exposed faces... the front was covered top to bottom in souveneir magnets dating back thirty years...
And the side was covered top to bottom in ancient, yellowed, childrens drawings... dating back thirty years!
I looked at Tim and said, "It's time to lose all the garbage on the fridge!"
So, after the nurse left... Tim did want to go over the kid's drawings... probably hoping to save any from his own kids that might be particularly exceptional... but, after two minutes he left it to me.
I threw out all but a dozen magnets, and, with them on the table, cleaned the sides of the fridge... then put the magnets back, and finally stuck up the DNR papers alone on the side face with a big elephant magnet to hold them in place.
After that, Tim and I hung out in the back room until about 12:45PM, mostly concerned with the money situation.
Not much food for either of us, and it looked like our best hope was the list of food pantries the social worker had left me last week. But in order for Tim to go tour the food pantries, we needed to fix the flat tire on Dad's car.
Tim said he'd do some YouTube research to find out the proper jack point for Dad's car, and how that particular jack works, so we could do it first thing tomorrow, when it's a bit warmer outside.
I went upstairs to hang with the cats before work, and we had a good hour and ten minutes... the first ten of which I spent finally vacuuming up here for the first time in a couple months!
At 2:10PM I went downstairs to check in with Dad and Tim before I left for work.
Tim took Yvette out for a walk as I got into my van and headed out.
It was SOOO nice, to clock in at the normal time, at a fully lit Grape Elementary, full of kids and teachers and life again!
About an hour in, I got to thinking about my LINK card... with the SNAP money on it.
It had been a while since I'd used it. Maybe I should stop at Aldi tonight and get whatever food I could for myself and Tim.
I called the 800 number on the back of the card to check the balance, expecting it to be like $50.00 or so... and was shocked to hear the robot lady say I had $495.00 on the card!
It didn't make any sense!
I thought my benefit was only $48.00 a month!
Didn't I just use it in December?... wait!.. maybe that was November? Either way, how the fuck was there almost $500.00???
I still have to figure that out, but I texted Tim to tell him the good news and he told me he'd managed to wrangle himself another $200.00 in web design payments while I was out!
So... OKAY!
After work I went to Aldi and got a shit ton of groceries. I basically got everything I'd get for myself on a BIG run... but DOUBLE!
The cart was full, but the bill was only $198.00... all but $11.00 of which was paid for by SNAP!
It took a while to bag up the eight bags of food, but I made sure to clone the two groups of four bags, so that Tim would get one, "copy," of the groceries, and I'd get the other.
And I folded and rolled handles into the paper bags so that Tim's, "copy," all rolled toward the Aldi logo, on the front of the bags, and the handles of my, "copy," all rolled away from the logo, toward the back of the bags.
One more quick stop to Walgreens for cat food and then I made it back home around 8:30PM... two hours later than has been the norm the past two weeks.
It took until 9:30 to get all the bags in... for Tim to put away his copy... for me to walk Yvette... and to finally sit down with Dad for a beer and a smoke.
He wasn't quite as lively today as yesterday, but he did participate in our little gathering in his room until about 10:30PM.
Checking the four mousetraps I'd set last night, I saw that on all four, the peanut butter had been licked clean! Three of the traps never sprung, and a fourth did spring, but did not catch a mouse!
I told Tim we had killed all the dumb ones, and now we were dealing with a, "clever girl," in a reference to Jurassic Park.
I reset the four traps with peanuts, that I'd just bought. When you jam a solid peanut into the bait mount, that usually foils the smart ones! I'd learned this in the great mouse invasion of 2018.
As we hung out in the back room, drinking and talking, we heard one trap spring!.. then a second!.. then a third!
I should point out, because this has become an ongoing topic, that snap traps are the most humane on the market, because they kill the mice instantly.
I know it may seem gruesome, but they are humane, and... it IS, us or them!
I'd prefer to have my Cats catch and eat them... which is the most natural way to deal with the situation... but Yvette stands in the way of that, and there's not much I can do about it!
All of that said, tonight's three, clever, dead mice, brought the kill-total up to... eight or nine? And one was a baby! So... that says there are likely a LOT more!
This is what happens when an old man, in an old house, has a gross dog, and no cats!
And as always... it's up to ME to slay the dragon!
Today was Tim's second full day here... but his first one after a solid night's sleep in a warm room.
As we talked out in the back room, he related that he was already coming around to my point of view about Dad being... on the way out.
Dad slept most of the day, and wasn't very engaged with Tim when he was awake. It didn't seem right to try and rouse him for exercise, or cajole him to eat food... though he did have a few spoonfuls of ice cream, and then a cracker and some cheese hours later.
We talked strategy as well. Now that the food situation is taken care of, we looked at the money we had at our disposal, between him, me, and Dad.
The plan is to get the spare tire on Dad's car tomorrow, and then Tim will take the main tire to get plugged, if possible, and also drive the car in for it's emissions test. After that, we'll renew the registration, and it should be a viable vehicle for him, or anybody else to use, while staying here.
Kevin arrives tomorrow... at some point... and there's a bit of bad blood between Tim and Kevin, so Tim would like to have the car to go visit a few old friends, as an excuse to get away from time to time.
Because Kevin is finally gonna be here, Brian texted to say he'll be coming out on Thursday!
Brian, the brother who never shows up for anything... WILL show up to see his big brother Kevin, because he still idolizes him.
Tim and Brian also have some bad blood so... more reason for Tim to have the getaway car working this week.
Colleen will be here next Monday, and... thankfully, she and Tim do get along, so, next week should be a little more harmonious than this week looks to be.
But I found out today that I will have Monday off, because it's Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and that's one of my paid holidays, when the school is closed! So... I'm about to have another three-day weekend, which is a bonus!
But this whole week has to unfold before that weekend can happen, and it's only Monday.
I didn't get upstairs with my copy of the groceries until almost midnight, so it's a good thing I had that hour with the cats before work today.
After putting away my copy of the groceries, I cleaned their litter boxes. And with the flat freshly vacuumed earlier in the day... things are looking okay up here!
That's about all there is to report on this big, crazy Monday.
I did get a bit of a start on Three Spades today. Maybe I'll have it done by the weekend.
And I also bought a pack of Aviator playing cards at Walgreens... because I'm apparently collecting different playing card decks now?
Why not?
°¦}
