Mom

My brother Jeff and I went to see Mom this morning.  Our sister, Kim, and Mom's youngest sister, Becky, were already there.

Mom is failing.  We are coming to the end.

The Next Few Days

Likely, there won't be another blog post until Tuesday at the earliest.

Monday, my new apartment will be treated for the bedbugs, and I'll have to be away for 8 hours.  If I can't get relaxed enough to urinate while I'm away, that could be a long, uncomfortable, even painful day.

Also, Mom has taken a turn for the worse.  Her kidneys are failing, and her doctor is now saying kidney failure will take her before the cancer does.  That could happen in a matter of days.

Quiet Christmas

No one came over yesterday because they didn't want to risk taking bedbugs home with them, so I spent a quiet holiday alone.

Of course, after the news about Mom, none of my family is in a festive mood, anyway.

Happy Holidays

I wish all readers of this blog a merry Christmas, happy holidays. and a 2014 in which you maximize your personal independence.

Bad News

My brother Jeff came by this morning with a Christmas present and some bad news.

Doctors say Mom has advanced brain cancer, and they give her two months to live.

Please keep her in your thoughts.  Please pray that she does not suffer.

New Channels

I was fooling around with my television Saturday night, and I found I get many more channels than I thought I did, including some I used to watch, the NFL Network, and the MLB Network.

We'll see if they all stay free.

Yet Again............

Yodit found another bed bug in my couch last night.  She also told me the aide company had had her apartment fumigated earlier this week.

I would've thought the cold had killed all the bugs, but apparently these got established in the warm indoors before the cold really hit.

Different Languages

Over the past two years, both in the nursing home and since, I've had many aides who spoke many languages in front of me.  I only understand English, but I can still tell when an aide is happy or agitated or asking a question by the way they use their voices.  It's one more reminder of our common, ancient heritage.

Something to keep in mind this holiday season.

Book-Of-The-Month Club

I ordered a book from BOMC for my niece Callie's Christmas on November 25, and I still haven't gotten it.  I sent an email asking about the book last week, but nothing has happened yet.  I had a similar problem with the History Book Club, but I think Janeka got that worked out for me.

Both BOMC and HBC got new websites earlier this year, and the websites have been pains to use ever since.  Sound familiar?

Go BSU

My Ball State Cardinals play Marquette on Fox Sports 1 tonight.  I get FS1 in my cable package, so hopefully I'll be able to watch the game.

Marquette will probably pound BSU, but I want to see my guys, anyway.

Still Adjusting

I'm still adjusting to the updated software package in my new computer, learning how to do things with it.

I still need to figure out how to copy and paste a document from Word 2013 into AOL Mail.  I don't think the easy way is possible, but there might be another way.

Again With The Bed Bugs

Yodit found another bed bug in my couch last night.  Hopefully they'll only have to treat the couch this time, but they'll probably end up doing the whole apartment, and I'll have to be away for several hours.

It's extremely frustrating.

Janeka's Chili

Janeka made me some chili yesterday, and I had some for lunch.  I don't know what she put in it, but half an hour after eating it I was in the bathroom passing huge amounts of gas, plus other stuff.

It was good chili, though.

Doing Better

I'm finally getting the hang of running this new computer system.  I still get in trouble sometimes, but I can get out of it easier now.

A lot of it has to do with using my old mouse.  The fancy new mouse was way too sensitive for me to handle.

Cold

It's cold out today.  I can also hear the wind howling, which is never good in winter here in the north.  The television forecasters say it's going to stay cold all week, with another storm arriving this weekend.

Hopefully, this is not a taste of the winter ahead.  The first snow is pretty-- even a touch magical-- and a white Christmas is nice.  After that, however, I much prefer a mild winter.

James

I had a new aide this weekend.  James seems to be a nice guy-- he even baked me cookies while he was here yesterday-- but he was determined I go to the bathroom a second time before he left.  I guess that's in the instructions somewhere.  I didn't need to go, however.  It took a little while to get him to accept the fact that I wasn't going, but I managed it.

Streaming

I'm doing much better with my urination.  Now, I think, the issue is my age.

I don't always go very much.  My male aides are younger than I am, and when I hear them in the bathroom they go, and go, and go.  I used to do that, but not anymore, or at least only occasionally.  I wish I could get back to that, but it's probably not in the cards for me.

Weather

The television forecasters are still predicting a winter storm starting tonight that will dump a good amount of ice and snow before it passes.

Yodit should be here before the storm really hits tonight, but tomorrow may be open to question.

Winter Storm

The first winter storm of the season is due to hit tomorrow, according to television weather forecasters.  I hope my aides will be able to get here safely.

Just one more thing to worry about.

Tiffany Is Back

My aide Tiffany came back to work this morning, and Janeka is back from here vacation in the Lone Star state.

Hopefully, then, things can get back to normal around here.

Improvisng

My aide Tiffany developed pneumonia last week.  I hope she's better soon.  Among other things, her illness wrecked my aide schedule.

My two aide companies have been improvising, with mixed results.  Last evening, for example, somebody, presumably the dinner shift aide, tried to get in twice, but couldn't, and simply went away.