Rusty's Ramblings

[Geo]

A 'schipperke' (dutch word btw)? Shepherd dog?

[Rusty Edge]

A 'schipperke' (dutch word btw)? Shepherd dog?

It's a spitz type dog, but it's smaller/ shorter body length than a corgi.

It's supposed to mean " little skipper" or "little captain." The breed originated in Belgium IIRC, but as for language origins, you'd be a better judge than I am.

The surgery went well. When they opened her knee up they found that the ligaments were completely torn apart. So, I think we made the right choice about what to do. I built some ramps today because she should avoid steps for a couple of months. We pick her up tomorrow after lunch.

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More drama. The niece's boyfriend has decided/announced he can't see himself with a cat. She's a cat person. Had pets all of her life, has names picked out for various other animals. Her cat has been staying with us and our cats. Looks like it will be here another year. It remains to be seen whether they break up over this impass, and if she moves in here.
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My MiL has moved from the physical rehab buildings back to the assisted living complex. This should make her happier. I don't know if she'll get the care she needs for a full recovery. Time will tell.
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Change in plans. While I was shifting stuff in the basement to accommodate my Mil's love seat and chair, and shifting some of our stuff downstairs, I re-discovered another drain port in the basement. It serves the kitchen sink and dishwasher. I consulted one of the hairdresser nieces, and she agreed that it would be better to keep the utility sink and add the hair washing sink, rather than swap sinks.  We discussed orientation at the "new drain" location. This should be easier as far as plumbing, once I'm able to consolidate more stuff in the basement and create a little more space.

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Meanwhile we're trying to get things squared away before we drive to PA in September. One of my hearing aids quit working and I had to trouble shoot it and send it away. We need to make arrangements to replace our driveway because the condo association doesn't approve of it ( we used a guy my brother in law used, and got decent work, but cheap concrete that is crumbling on the surface and seams. ).

[Rusty Edge]

My Dad fell out of bed. No seizure this time, just a fall and head lacerations, but the local hospital forwarded him to another county because they didn't have a neurologist in the E.R. and they were afraid to mess with a head lacking the top of the skull. So, that was this week's big adventure.
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My dog is recovering quickly...perhaps too quickly. We don't want her to become overactive and re-injure herself before she's fully healed.

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On the MiL front, my wife finally made contact with people who could answer her questions about going forward with the Medicare/Medicaid stuff.

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I've been doing some organizing. Clearing some large cardboard boxes to give to the niece who is about to move. Trying on clothing and getting the oversized stuff into storage bins. Still need to make some room before I can start on that basement shampoo sink, but I'm gaining on it.

Got a rear cam for my crossover station wagon. I wanted one for trips when I have a boat on behind, or a lot of stuff/people and only tunnel vision in my rearview mirror. Charged it, installed and synched it easily. Almost love it but-  the camera is part of a license plate holder, and it's thick at the top where the camera is, thick at the bottom where the solar collector is, and it blocks too much of the plate, such as inspection stickers, or the name of the state. Also, it blocks the license plate light. So I was able to use brackets to re-position it so that it didn't block things too badly. Then I bought a LED  light for the license plate. I couldn't get that to work. Why? Because I have geezer vision that couldn't tell that this light had a cable, rather than a single wire. Last time I did a license plate light it was metal and frame grounded. With glasses and enough light, I should be able to complete the fix next attempt.

Started some yard work. Got involved in weeding the flower beds, trimming plants that are finished for the season, and going to war against every tree seedling I could find growing in a hedge or flower bed. Got them all pulled or sawed off below ground level, then got out the cordless sabre saw and went after a tree root that broke surface. Had battery left and started cutting back the buckthorn new growth on the path to the park. Meanwhile I did the laundry a day or so early. HOWEVER, today I feel like somebody tried to pull my arms out of their sockets. Getting older sure beats the alternative. But it seems that every time I put the extra energy that comes with the weight loss to use I feel it for days afterwards, which sucks.

[E_T]

No Pain, No Gain??

[Geo]

No Pain, No Gain??

No Gaian, no paean?

[Rusty Edge]

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Got a rear cam for my crossover station wagon. I wanted one for trips when I have a boat on behind, or a lot of stuff/people and only tunnel vision in my rearview mirror. Charged it, installed and synched it easily. Almost love it but-  the camera is part of a license plate holder, and it's thick at the top where the camera is, thick at the bottom where the solar collector is, and it blocks too much of the plate, such as inspection stickers, or the name of the state. Also, it blocks the license plate light. So I was able to use brackets to re-position it so that it didn't block things too badly. Then I bought a LED  light for the license plate. I couldn't get that to work. Why? Because I have geezer vision that couldn't tell that this light had a cable, rather than a single wire. Last time I did a license plate light it was metal and frame grounded. With glasses and enough light, I should be able to complete the fix next attempt.

  WELL, I'm going to save that video license plait frame only for trips with the boat. Because I have no routine, neither does my car. It puts on most of it's mileage on vacation trips. It sits in the dark garage for days at a time, the camera loses it's charge, and it's synch. I'll put it back on when the car is sitting in the driveway and the boat is sitting in the garage again.
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Dog is healing nicely.
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Mother in Law is doing well with the lift/recliner chair I selected and set up. She likes the heat and massage features ( I find them too weak to do much good ). At least now she is sleeping with her feet elevated.
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We want to see if we can set my Dad up with an Alexa/echo. His neuropathy is so bad that turning a tv remote on and off is the best he can manage. He can't hold a book or turn a page. He could manage voice controls. He's at the end of a hall on a top floor, so maybe there's no wifi signal. Maybe there's no available power outlet. We'll see.

[Rusty Edge]

Well, the wifi signal is too weak/slow to be of much use in my Dad's room. It's fine in other parts of the building. The nursing home is building a new facility, and this approaching Christmas will be the last one for the old building. So we'll see what we can do on a future trip once the move is made.
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The other hearing aide quit working, so I sent it in too. One will be replaced, the other will be repaired tomorrow if the part arrives, so I should get them back this week.
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My Mother in Law is back in rehab, but it's good because they think she is well enough to try going back to a walker instead of a wheel chair. She's stubborn, had countless knee surgeries, so she's a rehab pro. She'll likely get out of the wheelchair again, but I fear that with the mental deterioration of the Alzheimer's she'll only fall and get hurt again. Well, it's her life. I understand that it's the nature of some people to fight new limitations, just as it's mine to adapt. I admire those who overcome them.

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Well, I've got stuff to do today.

[Rusty Edge]

My Dad's short term memory isn't so good, but that may be because one day is very like another in a nursing home bed watching reruns on tv.
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I got the hearing aids back, took them out to get my hair done, forgot to put them back in because I was used to not having them. Then, when I reached in my pants pocket they were gone. Didn't find them, neither did my niece's hair salon. Went on a trip without them, came home, reached in the coat pocket and found the left one! Best explanation is that I reached for a handkerchief, one hearing aid got caught in it and the other got pulled out onto the ground or floor wherever I was, and then returned the handkerchief to my coat pocket instead of my pants.  Well, they're insured.

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Dog is healing a little too well. Shen feels like running, jumping, and playing tag with the cats. We don't want her getting re-injured. There's a break in the weather, so we'll walk.
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Just when I was convinced that my Mother in Law would never get out of her wheelchair again except to transfer to a bed or toilet, the surgical wounds are healed, the edema is gone, and she is able to use a walker with a support boot in a rehab setting. So, there's hope. But, I'm conflicted. If she recovers, then we're back to where we were, an unsteady old lady that I have to take places in a car ( which is how she broke her ankle in the first place ). The only consolation is that the  surgery did re-align her foot so that it was pointed forward, and not off at a 45 degree angle due to twisting bones. So, it's less likely to catch in a car door, for example.
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So far we still have the niece's cat, desk, and a bunch of empty boxes that are a fire hazard, but fun for the cats.  But she has moved and seems to be happy.

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I plan to make another soup today, and get back to fermentation projects.

[E_T]

hidy (sp) places are a cats best friend...  especially in play with other cats (or when stalking someone/thing else)...

[Rusty Edge]

Agreed, E.T.

We were looking for something yesterday we couldn't find. Didn't find it by the deadline, but we agreed it was time to recycle the boxes so we had room to shift things around in a thorough search. Boxes got recycled last night.
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My Dad had another seizure, doesn't seem to be major, but doctors are worried. Don't know if that means the bone tumors are growing again or if it's the usual buck passing on brain stuff. My mom is a little overwhelmed. One of my sisters will be there for a few days early next month, the other switched jobs and has accrued only about a day of leave.  I'm on standby.

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There's another family member with a medical issue, which will result in more tests. Well, getting old beats the alternative.
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My mother in law is on track again with rehab - walking with a walker and transferring. Still needs to be able to transfer in and out of a car and climb a couple steps if she's to got to family functions such as Christmas, or come to our home for Sunday dinner. I watched one of her therapy sessions recently, her foot alignment hasn't been corrected as much as I thought. She was just walking straighter in a knee length boot brace. With a shoe, not so much. So, I'm sure I was wrong about her being trapped in a wheel chair permanently. Still dreading the return to the status quo (where she broke her leg on my watch.)
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I'm trying a 2nd fermentation on some kombucha using cranberries and candied ginger.
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Otherwise, I would be testing Christmas lights.  So, maybe there will be another update soon, or maybe there will be an absence.

[E_T]

Part of the offset in alignment, at this time, is walking such that there is less pain. 

In 9th Grade, I had broken the 3 middle bones on the arch of my left foot.  After I had gotten out of the cast, I had started to walk a bit sideways on that foot, as it was still painful to walk on (not as painful when walking with foot one way, compared to walking normally).  After fully healing and the pain going away, I never had given it any more thought.

In 12th Grade, I had joined the Cross Country Running team.  After a few weeks of practice, a few of the guys, after following me in our group runs, started to comment about how I always had my left foot outwards, compared to the right foot.  This was due to walking the way that I did in the past and it had become a learned behavior.  I had to consciously think about keeping the foot inwards for a long while, so as to bring it back into line.

That helped me, when later in the Air Force, I broke the same 3 Middle Arch Bones, on my Right foot.  Due to that, After that case was removed, I made sure to work through the pain, while making sure that I walked the correct way.  No later problems afterwards, too.

She might have something similar...

[Rusty Edge]

Good point about the alignment and pain, E_T. I often point out to my wife  the people I call "soccer walkers". They swing their legs from the hip because their knees hurt and need replaced, and they toe out as if they are dribbling a soccer ball.

My dad got worse, my Mom got stressed, and I got an airline reservation. Today he's better. The brain specialists aren't getting anything done this week. So, I still don't know what's going on.

The other family member thing turned out to be a false alarm after further testing.

The ginger cranberry kombucha was pretty good. I'd like to get some more fizz in it, I suspect I need to find a way to keep it warmer.

I put up some lights, but stopped the process due to the 40-50 mph winds. Yeah, I know, only half the velocity of what Uno has to deal with many Octobers. In my case, the wind tends to flog the icicle lights and candy cane lights. Then, when one bulb goes I lose half the string, and they're harder to test once they are hung. So, I stopped hanging them. Guess I can resume now, but today there is cooking and eating to be done.

[E_T]

Happy Turkey Day to all!!

[Rusty Edge]

Let's see...

My Dad's seizure meds have been in an oversteer situation. So my Mom has been great/stressed/great, etc. I have been really lucky to have cooperative siblings for Mom support. Only my brother still lives nearby. My Seattle sister has burned through her leave time for the year. My Florida sister made another support visit this month. It's my job to call my Mom every night. I've had shifting airline reservations for another trip this month, but that gets postponed due to various reasons. I have a hunch I'll be going again in a month or so, but who knows?

Had another family member in surgery, but everything with that is okay now and I'm going to crack a cork tonight.

As far as getting fizz in the 2nd Kombucha fermentation, the trick was to keep it a little warmer, and have less air space in the Fido jar.

Decided against icicle lights this year. If I have to leave for PA, I don't need the extra work of putting up and taking down more decorations from a ladder. The candy cane lights worked great initially after careful testing and installing, then 40% of them went dark. Finally got around to replacing the string in the middle with the one on the end of the chain. Looking good. 

All of the Christmas presents I've ordered have arrived. Now I can wrap those and be done. The last of the stuff that needed mailed went out the beginning of this week. If I get stuff squared away, maybe I'll bake something for the holidays.

As for my MiL, she made a full recovery physically, and moved back to assisted living. The doctor admitted after the fact that he expected her to lose the lower leg. So that's sort of miraculous. On the other hand she was calling and asking where she'd been the last few weeks ( she'd been in the physical rehab wing for 5+ months.) as soon as she'd moved. Had she been out of town? Her Alzheimer's is that bad now. 

[Rusty Edge]

The house is unsettled on account of the holidays, first from accumulating and stashing gifts, then from shifting stuff around to make space for a party. Now I'm in a restoration process. Re-organized a closet.

Tomorrow I'll probably remove the lights from the outside tree and bushes. Which reminds me, I was going to shop for lights on sale.

It was a good Christmas, although I was probably most gratified to hear about a kitchen knife I selected last year as a gift was still getting used every day, it was the favorite of all of the people in the apartment. Well, it was my personal favorite knife first, ( and still is) a Misen utility knife. It's currently available in a year-end clearance sail. https://www.misen.co/products/utility-knife-original?variant=15394839330897 

The biggest gift for me hasn't arrived yet, more on that later.

Maybe I'll do some vent work tomorrow, too. The limiting factor is my back. It's hurting from carrying stuff from room to room, to and from the car, etc.