Catching up with old friends...

Tonight I talked to Sandy for a long time and it was so nice to catch up.  After my Jeep rollover accident in 1980 when I moved to Stockton to live with my aunt I became really good friends was Sandy who lives a couple houses down.  After my cousin Cheryl and her husband got a divorce and she moved back in with her mother there was no room so I moved down the street with Sandy, her mother and her son Kevin.  I have seen her a couple of times when I've gone to Stockton but it was always a very short visit.  I don't know why I don't call her more often because I feel really great after talking to her... I'm going to make myself do that.  My older brother Stanley says that once a week, on the weekends, I call somebody did he hasn't talked to for a long time and I think that is a great idea.

I've sent out a couple of applications to find an afternoon caregiver so I'm hoping for the best.  For right now especially on the weekends I'm pretty much stuck in bed and that is way too much time to think.  I remember a couple of girls that works for me when I had an agency and I wish I could remember their names because they would work out really well.  I did talk to one last night and she said that she has a job but that her aunt might be interested.

I picked out the color of cabinets that I wanted for my new house and the floor is going to be a shade or two lighter.  It's going to be real wood instead of the simulated wood that I have right now so it's going to look totally awesome.  I remember last night I had a dream that I went to see my house and it was almost done.

On Friday a friend of mine that I used to work with from Xicor is going to come by for a visit, I'm so excited.  I have not seen him for 12 years so it will be really great to catch up with not only his life but everybody that we used to work with, there's nothing I love more than a really good gossip session.

Stanley just e-mailed me and she said that he was going with his family on Sunday to cut down a Christmas tree and asked me if I wanted them to cut one down for me and of course I said yes.  Madonna decorated inside this morning for Christmas but I haven't got a Christmas tree yet, perfect timing.  I love Christmas.

Getting ready for Christmas

Today I had two appointments at Moorpark Health Clinic.  The first with Tony and the second one was with Nancy.  I see Tony every three weeks but I saw Nancy the last time I saw Tony because of the blisters on my ankles, she is a wound care specialist.  She was really surprised and thrilled at how fast I blisters are healing, actually I really am too.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with Rich, the dog trainer.  I have not been able to work with Brodie or take her to the dog park as much as I wanted but we did what we could.

Thursday I'm going to have Madonna decorate for Christmas.  She really had a lot of fun decorating for Halloween and Thanksgiving and she really does us.  Good job, she's very creative.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was bittersweet.  We had a lot of family here and we really had a great time.  My mom and my Aunt Kathy cooked dinner and it was awesome.  We have of course Turkey, honey glaze ham, broccoli cheese casserole (my aunt made this dish up and it was really good)... pretty much everything else was the routine Thanksgiving dinner.  After dinner we played cribbage, like we always do.  I can't wait to move to Santa Cruz and be able to play cribbage every night.

Stanley, Janet and the kids came down on Thursday morning but Stanley and Janet had to work on Friday so they left the kids here and Stanley came back last night and cooked split pea soup with the left over him and then made breakfast and dinner, 12 bean soup with the rest of the turkey and some sausage, the man can cook.

I had to let Lulu go on Friday, that is the bitter part of Thanksgiving.  She has worked for me since 2000 and it's really hard getting used to the fact that she will not be back here anymore.

Since Madonna is off on the weekends I ended up staying in bed which I'm sure wasn't too thrilling for the kids but I think we made the best of it, watching TV and eating pizza and leftovers.

Another loss...

My morning attendant, Madonna, lost her mother on Friday.  She was getting weak and in and out of the hospital and finally could not fight anymore.  Madonna will be off until Thursday.

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here already.  This year has gone by unbelievably fast but it was a really great year.  This year were having Thanksgiving at my house although they're cooking everything out my mom's.  My mom and my Aunt Kathy are doing the cooking so I know the meal is going to be awesome.  In the past we've bought made meals and it just isn't the same.

Stanley, Janet and the kids are coming down tonight but unfortunately Stanley and Janet has to work on Friday so they have to go home.  The kids are going to stay here and Stanley and Janet are coming back Friday evening, it will still be a really nice visit.  Depending on how much time we have, the time always seems to go by so fast, we will drive to Santa Cruz over the weekend so that Stanley, Janet and the kid can check out my new house, they have not seen it yet.

On Monday I took Brodie back to the vet again because she is still shaking her head, her left ear is still bothering her.  Dr. Moore said there is still a slight infection but they did not give her any more antibiotics, they gave me some more pads to keep cleaning out her ear.  The paralysis on her face is almost completely gone.

The blisters on my ankle are looking really good.  Usually it takes a long time and they usually get really bad before they get better but I think because of the healing lamp and the TENS unit.

Next week I'm going to meet Craig, an old friend from Xicor, for lunch.  I'm not sure if I'm going to meet him somewhere or just have him come over here, whatever he wants to do.  I'm so excited.

Another weekend

The ladies support group was really nice.  The time always goes by so fast.  We had salad and lasagna and this really good five layer cookie thing, it was delicious.  I missed the support group last night and I really did want to go.  They had a Doctor there talking about spinal cord injury and insomnia.  Cindy said that she went and it was very interesting.

I'm not going to Santa Cruz tomorrow because Stanley and his family are going to be here on Friday and would like to go see my new house, they have not had a chance to see it yet.  Usually as it ends up there is no time but we will see what happens.

It really makes me feel good that after a relationship ends you can still talk and keep in touch.  I never thought I would ever talk to my ex again especially on good terms, it's great that we can talk as friends.

Tomorrow I'm going to have Lulu take my Halloween decorations back to storage and get the Thanksgiving decorations, I figured I'd better hurry up because it's almost hear and this is where everybody is going to be.

Awsome dog park

While Madonna was here on Friday she got a phone call from her sister in San Diego to let her know that they had rushed her mom to the hospital and she was unresponsive.  Her health has been going up and down for a while and it sounds like it's just a matter of time.  She then called me on Sunday evening and told me that she was in San Diego and she would not be in to work on Monday.

The weekend was pretty laid-back.  I started listening to audio books and I really am enjoying them.  I used to love to read and there's a lot of interesting books out there.

On Monday I talked to my brother David a couple of times.  I'm trying to find a way to get some air blowing underneath my sheet when I'm in bed hoping it will cut down on pressure sores and he had a couple of really good ideas, he always does.  The first time that he called my Aunt Kathy was here and she always has really creative ideas also so between the two of them they came up with the perfect plan.  We're going to try mounting an industrial-strength blow dryer at the bottom of the bed and hook it up so I can use it with my Smart home program on the computer.

Last night my ex called me and it sounded like he was having a really hard time.  He lost his dad about a year ago and he said that his father-in-law was due to have surgery the very next morning, his second triple bypass, and he was really worried about him.  Also he said that his aunt had a stroke and she was also going in for surgery.  It is really hard to lose a member of your family or a friend and it seems like the old were we get the more people we know that pass away.

Today I met Brodie's trainer trainer at Hellyer dog park.  I take Brodie to Hellyer Park all the time and I heard that they had a dog park but I had never seen it, it is awesome.  I put the address in Magellan and it led us right to the dog park.  When we first got there I wasn't anybody there but after about 15 minutes a bunch of people showed up so it worked out perfectly.  I talked to about three of the people and they said that they need their everyday at the same time and they were very sweet, dog people are so cool.  Brodie did really good and tried her hardest to ignore all of them.  After we take her over their couple of times to meet the trainer he will take Brodie inside and eventually be able to play with them, I'm so excited.

Friday is the ladies support group.  It's usually at Janie's house but a couple of months ago they had it at Cindy's, she has a day room in her complex, and it worked out really well so I think they're going to start having it there.

Saturday I'm going to Santa Cruz to take updated pictures of my new house, the last two times I forgot to take my camera so I hope I remember this time.

A friend of mine when I used to work at Xicor e-mailed me, I have not seen or heard from him in 12 years.  He said that he was having lunch with John Dutra and she gave him my e-mail address, it was so great to hear from him and it brought back a lot of really fond memories.  He could always make me laugh.

Brodie's better

Today was a nice relaxing day.  The last couple of days the sun has come out early and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day but after a few hours the sun went away and it was overcast, now it's raining.  Although we need the rain it's going to be sad to see the sun go.  Lulu made me a breakfast burrito and the rest of the day I just watched movies on pay-per-view.

My brother David called me on his way to church, he sets up the sound system and then goes home.  He often calls me on his way home so we can keep each other company.  We got the greatest news about Anna Maria, she does not have cancer and we are also thrilled about that.

I called Cindy to see what she was up to and she told me that this Friday is the ladies support group.  Usually it's at Janie's house but the time before last Cindy had it at the day room in her complex and it went really well so she's going to have it there again.

I cannot believe in less than two weeks is already going to be Thanksgiving, this year is going by so fast.  The next thing you know it's going to be Christmas and then it looks like I will be in my new house by Valentine's Day.

I went to see Nancy, the wound care specialist, yesterday and she said that the blisters I have on my ankle are not infected and she gave me a couple of kinds of cream to put on them, one is for debreading and the other has silver in it, silver is supposed to be the best for healing especially blisters and burns.

Brodie is doing so much better.  I put her on the treadmill today and she was even playing a little bit with her favorite toy, it makes me feel so good to see her back to her old self again.

Pressure sores and blisters

This has been a really busy week and it has gone by so fast.  Yesterday I had an appointment with Tony to get my SP tube changed.  While I was there I had him take a sample of my urine to see if I have a bladder infection and sure enough I did so he sent it to the lab and I go back tomorrow to see what they're going to do for me.  Also while I was there I made an appointment to see Nancy so she could help me heal some blisters that I got.

I was going to get up today to go to Beverly's fabric and get some material, they are having a big closeout sale, but I thought it would be better to just stay in bed and try to give my pressure sores and my blisters a rest.  I got a muscle stimulator so I put that on my blisters for a while today along with the healing lamp and it looks like they're healing pretty good.  I got the muscle stimulator to see if I can tone up my leg and stomach muscles, since I'm trying to lose some weight and eat better I want to see if I can tone everything up.

Hanson concert in San Francisco

Dave and Deziree arrived on Sunday evening about 11:30 p.m. looking exhausted and ready for bed, it was great to see them.

On Monday we got up and went to breakfast at the Original Pancake House and then we drove Santa Cruz, this was the first time that Deziree has seen my new house in progress and a first-time Dave has seen it since I bought it.  I probably wouldn't have this house is it wasn't for David.  My uncle called me and told me about it and David happened to be here and said that he would drive me to Santa Cruz to look at it.  When we got there after breakfast Charlie and two of the guys that work with him were there.  One of them I had met before because he did some work on the place where I live now, they were both very nice and I have a good time talking to them... of course I again forgot to bring my camera.

Then we drove back here and rested for a while and headed out for the concert in San Francisco at 4 p.m.  It was really easy to find, thanks to Magellan, and we got to stand/sit in the front of the line and we were one of the first to be taken up.  It was general admission but on one side of the wall were tables that were assigned to people with mobility issues.  The concert was AWESOME.  I had listened to some of their music for a couple of days before I went to the concert and really liked it, they put on a great show. Brodie stayed with Lulu because I'm always afraid that the loud music will be too much for her, it was really loud and there were a lot of girls screaming.

I remember Hanson for many years ago when Aubrey and Deziree first learned of them and became addicted, even though Aubrey will now no longer admit it.

Unfortunately, Dave and Deziree had to leave this morning because they needed to go back to work and school tomorrow.  As usual we had a really nice visit and I can't wait to do it again really soon.

More lookers

Brodie looks a whole lot better today and I am so thrilled, it's really depressing he someone or something that you love in pain and not be able to do anything.

Today I went to the storage unit and got my healing lamp.  I have not used it for a long time, in fact I forgot all about it until I e-mailed Rich and I asked him for advice on getting rid of pressure ulcers and he suggested getting a desk lamp and using that.  Then I went grocery shopping.

When I got home there was a couple parked out in front of the House and they asked if they could come in and look at the place.  They were looking for a place for their daughter.  They were very impressed with this place and said that their daughter's husband has a mild form of MS and is possibly going to be getting worse so a couple of hours later Pat, my realtor, called me and said that the daughter would like to come and look at this place tomorrow afternoon.  I'm going to Santa Cruz to check the progress on my house but I will be backed by the afternoon.