Carl Day Care day on Tuesday

 

The Prisoner put a monkey wrench in the works.  He didn't go out when Carl arrived.  Then when I went downstairs to move the handkerchief laundry from the washer to the dryer, he tried to come out of his hiding place (revealing it to me), Carl came charging down the basement stairs, and Prisoner had to back up and reverse course back into hiding!

Great way to start day care, right?  I then took Carl outside to help with yard work.  We were back inside before 10 a.m.

I brought out another interactive toy:  the vacuum.  Many of you have dogs that are not vacuum cleaner fans.  At least Carl does not attack it... he does try to flee from it, get out of its way.

Then the lawn care guys showed up and I thanked the heavens that we were inside, and I didn't have to persuade Carl back in while they were there.  He jumped up to a good viewing point at the bay window, and I stood right with him, petting him while they unloaded their machines, used them got out the leaf blowers and used them, and eventually re-loaded and departed.  I was SO PROUD of Carl.  He did not bark at the lawn service guys!

Granted, he did bark at other dogs being walked past, after the lawn guys left, but he was such a good boy!

Carl:  "I know that cat is up there... I can smell him!"

Grandma:  "So we'll just close the laundry room."

Carl sulked for a bit, resigned over being at Grandma's house.  He had no clue how confining his day would have been had he been "at home."

At Grandma's house, there's the Purple People eater to deconstruct!

And there's a squeaky ball that Grandma will toss for Carl to retrieve.

And when Grandma opens the sliding glass door, there is the interactive Squirrel that runs up and down the fence-top highway for Carl to chase and bark at.  During this episode, Grandma was giggling over Carl's 4-foot vertical jump in pursuit of that pesky squirrel.  Grandma wasn't quick enough with the camera today to capture the image of the squirrel.

Carl got Grandma motivated to work on the weeds and volunteers again, too.  By end of day, four of the five available bins had been filled.

By the time his daddy came to collect him it was dark outside.  Daylight wasting time (my brother used to call it that) is in full force.

After Carl and the Mythical Son left, I opened the laundry room door and announced to the Prisoner that the house was once again his.  Prisoner squirted right out and demanded a trip outdoors.  The request was granted.  And an exhausted Grandma went to bed as soon as she could manage it.

Wednesday had me feeling a bit of relapse of the respiratory crud.  I thought it was "progressing", but I did wish the energy was back at full. Nodded off in front of the TV, unable to concentrate on anything serious. 

I did manage the "sister walk".  Being a school secretary, she's not scared of the crud... she's already had it.  We wryly mused over whether it doesn't matter what we go out and do, post-Covid, we seem to come down with something.  No wonder we turn into hermits!

Thursday morning, I woke with a sore throat.  I examined my throat in the mirror and saw that one side of my tongue looked raw (as opposed to coated), inflamed.  Sigh.  I confirmed not coming to the trainer.  Between the dust being kicked up and the dry leaves being blown about, and me getting out in it... yuck!

So, life goes on.  And despite such inconveniences, I'm still breathing and grateful for it.  Life is good.  Spark on!

 

My trip through tripledemic-land

I don't like going to doctors, especially if I'm not feeling well.  This past week, though, my pre-surgery paranoia reached its limit, and I finally called my primary care office to ask advice.

I got an e-mail from the surgical hospital asking me to fill out forms online, related to that scheduled event (still a couple of weeks off).  I got as far as the section of questions about Covid and screeched to a halt.  I had taken home Covid tests on Friday the 21st (pre-CSG Walk), and again on Monday the 24th (because I had symptoms by then and a scheduled softener salt delivery to the house).  Both were negative.  

Symptoms were still there on Wednesday afternoon as I was trying to fill out these pre-surgery forms... so... the phone call.  The nurse was very kind, of course.  She asked the appropriate questions about symptoms and timing, and I mentioned my upcoming surgery.  At this point she decided I'd best be looked at, and Thursday morning I was.

Here's the symptom problem:  besides not being good at connecting physical sensations to words, this crazy quilt of a "thing" kept changing on me.  Over the course of Sunday through Thursday, I had experienced:

• runny nose
• dry mouth
• sore throat
• slightly elevated temperature (topped out at 100, which dropped within an hour to 99.3, without meds)
• muscle aches that were preventing sleep
• cough (productive - yuck) which woke me up every couple of hours
• a touch of nausea (started Thursday morning)

Since they weren't going away (just changing in nature), and it had been five days or so... seemed wise to have better answers for that questionnaire!  They swabbed me for three separate tests at the office.  One for Covid-19 (just in case my home tests were wrong). Nope, the professional test also said not Covid.  Onward.  The second was for flu, which while it's not high flu season in Summer, it's an available test.  Nope, not that either.  Which leads to the last one, the one they were all concerned about pediatric cases last Winter:  RSV.  Respiratory Syncytial Virus.  Bingo!  We have a winner.

The bad news:  there's a vaccine under development, but it hasn't been released/approved yet.  Besides, I've already GOT the bugger by the time the test was done.  Anti-viral was not recommended.  She mentioned antibiotics sometimes prescribed "just in case" but since I'm allergic to the penicillin family I waved off that suggestion.  I know there are other antibiotics, but this is a virus, and antibiotics don't help.

The good news:  RSV usually goes away (i.e. resolves itself) within "a week, or two" (she emphasized the TWO).  Just get plenty of rest, fluids, go ahead and use tylenol or advil for the aches and pains.  She sent me for a chest x-ray, which came back clean (apparently this nasty can settle into the lower lungs, but in my case, nope, at least I was spared that).  She said if I had chest pains or shortness of breath, go to the ER, but otherwise, just keep on with the self-care I was already doing.

I think that if it resolves in the next day or two it will not threaten the surgical schedule, but I'll find that out in the phone call and after the pre-op physical.  I'm just glad to have an answer.  And day by day I'm getting better.  

Meanwhile, so is The Prisoner.  He's been going in and out at will.  Despite the high heat, he prefers the great outdoors.  I put water out on the deck for him, and he comes in a few times a day to eat and get de-burred or just for companionship.  I make sure he's back inside for the night, though.  His stitches have pretty much dissolved, and the fur is growing back.  

Rubia has still not put in an appearance, and I'm afraid I may have to accept she's gone for good.  It would be happy to think she's found herself another family.  

I still believe that Life is Good.  Stay positive and Spark on!

Word Lists

 

What they said:

• Teacher
• Crooks
• Working
• long-sleeved shirt
• campus
• shocking
• Cosgtco

What I heard until I did my double-take, context check:

• t-shirt
• trucks
• wealthy
• sleepshirt
• Kansas
• shopping
• hospital

Sigh.  It is becoming clearer that I am going to need "hearing helpers".  It's just a matter of time.  So far, I am functioning, aware of when I have to concentrate, ask again... do that double-take.  

On "I never go anywhere"

I have been amused in pandemic times by my Google Maps report.  I don't care, I leave my location detection on.  I figured at least if I start wool-gathering and wander off, at least my family / law enforcement would have a place to begin looking for me...

Anyway, the January report came to my in-box last week and informed me that I went to two different doctor's offices, two different grocery pick up spots, the gym, and home.  That's it!  Lather, rinse, repeat!  Last Summer was more interesting (back when the local numbers were better and it was kayaking season).

Which reminds me, I got my park permit sticker already installed on Dexter's windshield.  Looking forward to a more "normal" Spring/Summer, God willing and the variants don't rise.  Like gardeners ordering their seeds, that's me ordering my park sticker!

Today's Olympic reminder

I admit it, I will miss waking up to watch the curling competitions.  The hut, the house, the weight of a stone, free guard zones, the button... vocabulary that takes on whole new meaning once every four years.  For now, I'm savoring these matches.

Today's pep talk

Time to remind us all that we have ONE amazing body, issued to us at birth (or before, depending on when you start counting)... and its up to first our parents and then to ourselves, to take the best care of it we can, while it does amazing things for us.  Like keeping us going, alive!  It converts food to energy.  It heals wounds and injuries.  It resists illness and infections.  It does all these things as long as it can, and it's our job to do the best we can to provide it with high quality input:  clean water, fresh nutritious food, activity for body and brain.  It's easy to take our body for granted or to criticize it for not looking a certain way... but my goodness, what a functioning vehicle for life!

Life is good.  Spark on!

I kept on isolating through day 7...

 

I'm also Trapped, with a cat on the lap

On Sunday, The Prisoner claimed his spot on my lap.  Purring loudly.  As long as I'm stuck with a cat on my lap, tuned the TV to find old Perry Mason episodes and remembered my mom... she loved that show.

Meanwhile, the kids were off hiking at a local lake.  Lacey (GF) caught a great action shot of my favorite grand-dog.

It's a great landscape / nature photo, too, but boy, does Carl look happy, with his ears flying as he runs.  Even while isolating, seeing the animals in nature is uplifting.

I felt pretty normal on Day 5 (Sunday).  Nose was a little drippy, but no more so than usual this time of year.  Monday made three days running of "feeling much better."   Monday (day 6) evening, I started draining and feeling queasy again.  

Still, slept well.  I took a hot shower Tuesday (day 7) morning, and was glad I had waved off the trainer for one more day of isolation.  He'd forgotten (or the message didn't click), and messaged me to come in at 10?  I asked whether that was for Thursday and reminded him that I thought I had cancelled for Tuesday!  To be honest, I was feeling good enough to be tempted to go, but did not muddy the waters further.  Thursday is soon enough to restart the lifting.

Meanwhile, it's a good time to put together ice box cleanout veggie soup.  I started cooking this potful on Sunday and it's still feeding me.

The weather continues its flip-flop with termperatures and clouds.  Still no "real" snow.  Facebook is popping up messages about the storm a year ago that dumped 15 inches of fluffy white stuff on us.

In Wednesday night's cold snap, my son tells me, their furnace decided to misbehave.  The local HVAC folks got them to a stage of limping along, and waiting for new equipment to arrive.  Supply chain issues.  I'm feeling good that they will be taken care of for a while, though, with new home environment.

And... I have been dragged in to Wordle.  Another game on line.  

Wordle 220 4/6

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜

⬜🟨🟨⬜🟨

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

It is just enough different to let me justify playing.  One word a day, so it's "portion controlled" as my friends tell me.  The beauty is that since I play on the same site as my kid sis and several FB friends, we can compare results, because everybody gets the same word.

How does it work, you ask?  Five letter word... blind guess.  It lets you know if you have a letter that's IN the word, with a yellow if it's in the wrong position, or Green if it's in the right position.  You get up to six guesses, and you just build from your mistakes and correct guesses.

Anybody else play?

Now, let's all take care of ourselves, best we can, right where we are on this journey called life!  We are all issued ONE body, no trade-ins allowed, and it does amazing things for us!  I am in awe of how mine shook off whatever that was last week.  Ever notice how much better you feel after recovering from illness... even if it felt awful, when you get better you appreciate how good you've got it?

Life is good.  Keep on sparking!