Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Gustov update

Just heard on tv that Gustov has sustained winds of 85mph!

Aftermath of Fay

Fay lingered for quite a while in each place she visited. Of course she's still creating havoc north of Florida and it looks like she just will not quit! We got 22" of rain here (maybe more, but that's the most I've heard officially) and Tallahassee still has major roads closed due to flooding! Nancy's creek roared and rose, but never challenged her house. She said yesterday that she can still hear the roar from inside the house!

It's possible we may be in for more this weekend or early next week. Hurricane Gustov has 70 mph winds and is currently taking more or less the same path Fay did. I'll just leave all the porch and yard stuff as is and see what happens.

I had to go to the doctor yesterday. Stopped on my way in to work and begged to be seen. They couldn't see me until 10:30. Well, it seems I have bronchitis bordering on pneumonia. Dr. Scoles said I was just a day or two away from pneumonia and the hospital. Gave me 4 prescriptions and sent we home to bed. Really feel awful and it's my birthday. Guess I'm just lucky to be here!

Today was my day to see Mother. Nancy's going in my place. Like she said it'd be horrible to infect Mother with this...maybe even the entire nursing home! I'll go next week.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Fay is arriving

We finally can stop waiting for Fay to arrive and just batten down the hatches. The first of the heavy bands arrived around 2 this morning. Of course, we've been getting wispy outer bands for a couple of days with winds and rain, just nothing continuous. Now she's showing us that she may "just be a tropical storm" but boy can she dump rain! As slowly as she moving we should have this for 2-3 days and possibly 10-12 inches of rain! I'm not too worried about my house, she's built up several feet above the ground, but Nancy's house is on a flat slab and she has a creek that borders one side of her yard. I suggested she get sand bags, she's not going to.

Got up early this morning, made coffee, a pasta salad with black beans and pan grilled a rather large rib-eye steak.

All of the animals are in and not too happy about it...told them just to settle down and enjoy, 'cause this is how it's going to be for a while.

It would be nice if we didn't lose electricity. It would also be nice not to lose any trees! I have several large, old pecan trees that seem to loom toward the house and my neighbor to the east has several old trees that seem to lean over my new kitchen!

Got a reminder call from one of the ladies I dine with on Friday nights. She seems to think we'll have supper together tonight. I'll have to see how the storm's doing before I go out.

Nancy's thinking we'll still go to the Seinyard Saturday to celebrate my upcoming birthday. Told her that we can always do it next weekend. I'd just as soon not head for the coast in this. She's not too happy with that. We'll just have to see how it goes.

Tomorrow is Moonies 17th birthday. Can you believe that?!!! Happy Birthday Moonie!!!!! I love you!

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Fay

Fay has certainly been an odd storm. She's been all over the place and her projected path is just as odd. The two most likely scenarios are: (1) she'll get out into the Atlantic and get her wind back and turn due west at Jacksonville and head across the panhandle and: (2) she'll make an abrupt u-turn when she exits around Cape Canaveral and pass across Florida out into the Gulf of Mexico and stall, gain strength and head here. Wow! It seems that either way come tomorrow night we'll have us a little storm!

Last night I got flashlights ready and made ice. I've gotten 3 battery operated fans (one a year) and haven't even gotten them out of their boxes...I did last night. Put batteries in them and tested them. I thought I had a little radio that took batteries, but all I can find is the big green one and it takes so many battries...of course, one of the fans uses 10 D batteries and the little tv uses 10 C batteries. I've been collecting batteries for over a year...still in the packages, so I guess they're okay. They worked last night.

I'll get more cat and dog food on my way home today and then I'll be set. Maybe I'll get some jerky, too. This is sorta spooky!

Monday, August 18, 2008

The living room is painted!

I spent all day Saturday painting the living room and it is done!!! Looks good. Feels good to have finished it! The hardest part was dragging that 8' ladder around the furniture and avoiding the ceiling fan! Of course going up and down the ladder constantly was a challenge too! The cats (except for Mercy) took turns keeping me company by sitting on the paint shelf on the ladder while I did my thing. This room had soooo much cutting in. There are 5 doorways (counting the front door and the closet door), a double window and the fireplace.

Yesterday I was so tired and sore that besides feeding the animals and myself I didn't do much. Read the newspaper, watched the Olympics and read my book. Still feel a little stove up today, but better.

The track for soon-to-be hurricane Fay brings her ashore right here in Jefferson County! I filled an oil lamp and set up my weather radio yesterday. And, of course, made a list. I look for her arrival late Tuesday or early Wednesday. She's still far enough out that lots could change. I just heard on TV that her track is moving slightly to the east. That's good news for here!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Early morning

Wow! It's 7 o'clock on a Saturday morning and I've already done a million things. In fact I just got back from running out to work and leaving a birthday card taped on the door for one of the guys. Having these 4 am furry alarm clocks sure does start the day off with a BANG!

Went to see Mother Tuesday. She was in the dining room having lunch. There were two other ladies in wheelchairs at the table. I sat with them and found it all so sad. Mother really has lost all of her social filters and is really nasty with people. At one point she yelled across the table at one of the ladies "Hey stupid, I'm talking to you"! Both of the women just ignored her. You don't hear yelling from any of the other folks in long term care. Why her?

I finally saw her roommate awake (if you can call it that) for the first time. She has Alzheimer's, is blind, is frozen in a very stiff, uncomfortable looking position and is mute. No wonder she and Mother get along so well! And, Bert told Uncle Buddy that they communicated well and enjoyed each other's company!!!!

Starting this next week I'll go to my old job after work on Wednesdays. This won't cut any of the time out that I'm working, but will cut one day out...so I'll have 4 day weekends! Sure am looking forward to that as there just isn't enough time to do everything I'm trying to get done around here.

I've almost finished painting the living room. Should be able to get it done today. It sure is looking good! Still have to take the tack strips up in the dining room and the staples out of the floor. Dread that job as it's killer on my back to sit on the floor any length of time and my hands just don't work too well. Still have carpet under the corner china cabinet and it looks ratty. If Nancy's shoulder ever heals she'll try to help me move it out.

Bless her heart, earlier this week Nancy got stung by a wasp at work. She's very allergic and had to dash to the doctor's office. They gave her two prescriptions...don't remember what one was, but the other was for an antibiotic. Interesting. They told her that insect bites can carry some really nasty germs and they'd like to nip it in the bud. She's doing okay, but like with me, the weight of Mother seems to magnify everything that happens. Stress is mighty powerful!

Yesterday Jazzy was 6 months old. That makes Maggie about 7 months old. I am soooo looking forward to them growing out of this puppy chewing stage! Now that they've emptied all of the stuffing out of the box spring of the bed they are working on the wood frame of it. Damn! Oh, they've chewed the right arm of my newish recliner terribly and the lever that you use to recline it, too! It's said that they aren't mature until they're around 18 months old. Just a year more! I was hoping that having them spayed would slow them down just a bit. It hasn't yet.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

A chilly August morning

It was amazing to wake up to temperatures in the low 60's this morning! Typically August in the Deep South has early mornings in the mid to high 70's. So this is really a treat! Our high is to be in the low 90's today, but that's a decent swap off!

This long weekend has been wonderful and productive! Wednesday afternoon I got the majority of the carpet and padding out of the dining room, Thursday it was laundry (still have a couple of large spreads that I used to cover doorways with to do), Friday cleaning and having dinner with the ladies, yesterday I was in Tallahassee until 3ish and got a lot more taping and some painting done. Today, if my sore muscles hold out I want to plant some grapes and Altheas and finish painting at least one whole wall!

I went to see Mother yesterday. When I got there she was on the outskirts of a group of wheelchair bound patients. She was fussing loudly and yelling at real and imaginary people. I just stood there for a few minutes and watched her. She was the only one making such a fuss. It was so sad. Then I went up to her and took the brakes off the chair and whispered in her good ear that maybe we should go out to the porch. Bless her heart, she didn't know me for a while. We sat out on the porch and I tried to visit, but she was incoherent. Was raving about things being straight/in line and once more was dipping her finger onto the table and wiping it on her cheeks. The only really coherent moment was when after taking her back inside I told her I loved her and she responded that she loved me too and said my name.

Went to see Nancy afterwards and then to Walmart for my weekly shopping. Got another gallon of paint...the dead/dried fern paint was just wrong. This time it's dried mint...still a deep color, quite rich, but is brighter than the fern one was. I managed to get enough on two different walls to know that I DO indeed like it and will go with it. I was unaware that Kilz makes paints...have used the block out (what's that called?) they make and it's wonderful! Anyway, they have an astonishing array of colors, all guaranteed 1-coat coverage. That's what I got. It'll be interesting to see if it covers that red wall in the funny room in one coat!

Well, I think I'll go out and get the paper in, pour another cup of coffee and start my Sunday off right!

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Long weekend!

Officially I've been off work since 11:30 am yesterday! There's a large nursery convention in Atlanta this weekend and all of our guys have gone up to set up our booth display (I had no idea it took sooo many guys to set up!), so the phone isn't ringing at work and I'm all caught up with the filing, etc. Carolyn (my immediate supervisor) asked at 11 if I was bored (been surfing the net for hours), of course I said yes...she suggested I go on to my Thursday job and then I could have a long weekend! Did. Actually spent less than 30 minutes there.

When I got home I ripped out the rest of the carpet and padding from the dining room (except for under the china cabinet) and got it out to the street. The house sure smells better and even though the floor in the dining room isn't too good, it looks so much better than that nasty carpet!

I started taping off woodwork in the living room this week. Boy is that a tedious job. So far have only taped as high as I can reach on the front door on one side. At this rate I may finish taping by Christmas! I'm not sure about the color of paint I got...it's called dead fern, maybe it's dried fern, and it's a bit dull, may be a bit dark too. I slapped a bunch on two of the walls (with a 1" foam brush, bad technique) when I bought it last week. Like a fungus, it seems to be growing on me...we'll see.

Took Maggie in to have her stiches removed on Tuesday. Take Jazzy in today. Boy, dem dogs is wild!!!!

I have so many projects in mind and a few actually in progress. A 4 day weekend may not be long enough!

Sunday, August 03, 2008

I started not to blog today...

I'm not sure if I'm just a little agitated or "Mad as hell" and can't take it anymore. I got a call from Mother's twin brother last week. He and Bert talk often and he calls Nancy on occasion, but this was the first time he'd called me. The start of the conversation, which lasted apx. 45 mins., was just family type chit chat, but he really wasted no time in getting to the guts of his call. He told me that Bert wants to take Mother home and that he thought it was a good idea. Well, he hasn't even SEEN Mother since she had the stroke and sorta talked to her once on the phone (he told me that she seemed just fine on that phone call). Bert had her outside on one of her good days and called Uncle Buddy on his cell phone and the chat didn't last very long...Bert told me this at the time. Then UB told me that he'd been talking to our cousin in Panama city and SHE'S a nurse. Said that she said Mother should go home. Well, I told him that she had no business saying anything like that, she hasn't even seen Mother and that he hadn't either! Mother's doctor told Nancy that Mother needed round the clock nursing care and shouldn't go home. Anyway, it's just boiling up to a big nasty mess and Nancy and I seem to be cast as the Nasties! It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out.