(Old) Don't Sleep On The President's Day Sales - A Mattress MMP

Well. cokes and shrimps on sale turned into $85 in groceries! But I scored some used meat that will become part of veggie-beef soup, so yum!

My membership in the marine museum is up for renewal, so I guess I’ll take care of that before I make the soup. Onward!!

Well, it’s now an hour later, so about 9am Wed.

I’m in the club at the airport. The previous post was written on the train riding down. In a bit over an hour I’m off to Grand Cayman for 2 nights / 3 days, home Fri night late. So should have a decent chunk of both Wed & Fri there, plus all of Thu. Have a tour booked Thu morning-early afternoon to snorkel & swim with the rays that are plentiful there Cayman Islands Stingray City and Starfish Snorkel Tour 2024 - George Town (viator.com). Should be fun.


As to y’all since noonish Tue …

Yaay for OK; at least one of the wheels isn’t falling off in your family. back when I had an office job I’d often dial then-not-so-aged MIL as soon as I got in the car to come home. All I had to do was say “hello” and she’d provide the rest of the conversation until I got home. She thought I was the bestest son-in-law ever. I just preferred her distracting monologue to me ruminating in silence or the car radio. Win-win.

Best of luck on MIL, heart valves, and rehab. Sounds ominous.

Hooray for coppertone’s healthy tooth.

“Yes” to the first and “hard no” to the second for me. :man_facepalming:

Orlando is a sweaty hell-hole in the middle of what ought to still be a swamp. Near the coast where I am it is much nicer. The temps are similar, but the subjective experience is miles different. Something about a few trillion gallons of coolant circulating right nearby.

Gotta go again, will continue forward in a bit.

Morning all. 53F now heading for near 70F and no rain predicted until tomorrow so will try and run a couple of errands today. Also get my mile of swimming in, just depends on the timing.

Pilot, once nice thing about being in Miami is how close (relatively) those islands are. Hope the apartment thing works out for you.

Sticky Buns (I had forgot your MMP name), welcome back, pull up a chair and sit with us awhile. Never had a poodle headbutt me, but have had an English Mastiff put his paw on my lap to remind me I hadn’t petted him in the last 20 seconds.

FCM, if MIL comes to your place, is there any help for you (from hospital, etc.) laid on to help you. With her and FCD and your own family worries, I’m a little concerned on the load you have. Be well.

Coppertone, sleep well and hope the Vitamin D helps.

shoe, sweet dreams.

Dicey, glad the dentist trip was uneventful. May work be/have been the same.

Was the turtle in his teens and mutant?

OK< need to break my fast here shortly and then head off for adventures in the Great Known. Have a good Hump Day all.

Knee shot went well. I stopped for a Reuben sandwich on the way home. It was okay. Took a nap, had dinner. Watched 2 episodes of The Sopranos. Meh. I can see why it was big in its original run. This morning the injection site is kinda achy. I will sloth today.

FCD talked to the cardiologist and he pretty much said there’s nothing to be done. Her valves are shot, her heart is thickening. He offered to give her referral to Johns Hopkins to see if they can do anything, but she declined. She’s now got to come to grips with the inevitable. She won’t get better.

I’ve set up an Alexa in the guest bedroom for her. She’ll be discharged this afternoon and FCD may or may not take her to her apartment to get clothes and stuff. She’ll end her days here. I just hope it ends peacefully in her sleep rather than in the hospital.

I asked my sweetie to inquire about any services available to help us. He doesn’t want to discuss hospice with his mom - I can understand why - but I suggested he talk to someone about available resources.

For the moment, tho, I need to go back to Food Lion - I thought I had a sack of mixed veggies in the freezer, but I don’t. I almost picked up a bag but I was sure I had some here. Nope. Dammit.

I had a vivid dream with a recurring theme: a beachfront high-rise hotel or condo, but the interior is more like a rickety old mansion. My parents are there. Lotsa rooms; lotsa people.

Not exactly “sweet,” but not really a nightmare, and at least an indicator that I was getting REM sleep and not just dozing lightly.

Feels good to feel better!

To celebrate, I’ve started a load of laundry LOL.

It’s great to have ninja spider back-ups!

I’ve had :coffee: #1. As soon as I brew :coffee: #2 and sit down I’m going to start the Lyft-you-did-middle-of-the-night-evil-to-the wrong-old-lady calls.

{{{{{ FCM, FCD and FCMiL }}}}}

oh dear, i hope mil will be comfortable and content with y’all. it is sad she didn’t have more time in her own space. it seems it just got set up just right, and she didn’t get time to enjoy it. everyone’s mind will be easier when she is with y’all.

Left the club and boarded the flight after a nerve-wracking 20 minutes where it was unclear whether they’d have the available weight to carry lightweight me and one other person. But that worry resolved happily and we’re now airborne after a tiresomely long taxi during which I can’t keyboard.

Back to y’all …

Yaay for refunds! And with e-file done early as you have, IME they come back real quickly.

I got my half done and am awaiting HL getting back to me. Based on just my half I/we owe them a chunk o’ change. HLs income should be fairly small, but there’s zero witholding from it, and from where the return sits today it’ll all be taxed at my upper-bracket hefty marginal rate. Oh bother.

You’re in for a treat.

Ouch but as expected. Peace be unto all of you.

I know you know this, but the key to that (with MIL’s agreement of course) is to engage the hospice folks early, get that paperwork completed, and never call 911 no matter what.

I’m sorry FCD is turning his back on hospice. Obviously I don’t know Mom, but it sure sounds like she understands the score and the best moves even if her son is struggling.

Good luck.

As you said earlier: sleep and soup. A combo to soothe the soul.

And give 'em hell BBBoo; I know you’re whiz at that.

I suffered a minor existential crisis last night, but I’m fine this morning. I’m just trying to analyze what happened, what I did, what I should have done differently, or not done at all. It’s not as horrifying as that all makes it sound.

I was standing outside the pub in the rain last night (in the little smoking hut outside) and this homeless guy comes shuffling up and drops his tarp full of stuff in front of us and starts mumbling. I finally get it out of him what he’s saying – “Can you call me an ambulance? I’m not feeling too good. I think I want to kill myself.”

He seemed upset but calm, so I hooked him up; I called 911 for him and stood around and talked to him in the rain while I talked to the 911 operator and then subsequently some other outfit that helps with mental/emotional things rather than like bones sticking out and stuff. He was genuinely in crisis, talking to himself and, apparently, his dead father. It was kind of weird acting as the go between with him and the people on the phone, asking him what he means specifically when he says that he feels like he’s dying and if he has any weapons or if he wants to hurt anyone else … like me the guy standing in front of him.

Anyway … it seems I wasn’t the only good Samaritan who ran into that guy last night. The 911 operator said that they’d received a similar call a few blocks away not too long ago. His name was Tony; I saw that he had some sort of name tag hanging off him. I told him that help was on the way and that he needed to stick around and he did for a minute or two but then he turned around and walked off with his shit. I called after him and tried to get him to stay but I wasn’t going to tackle the guy. He was gone. I tried to call that second outfit I mentioned to let them know what was happening but I couldn’t get through. I was at the pub for another two hours after that and I never saw anyone show up so I don’t know what happened.

Then I played three decent sets (two on guitar and one on bass) like a zombie, completely preoccupied with Suicidal Tony with the Big Tarp.

Breakfasted, exercised and Wordled. On to the crosswords!

My daughter sent me a very short video that she discovered on her phone of my middle son singing “Singing In The Rain” off-camera. It was a shock to hear his voice again, six years after his death. Made my heart feel heavy for awhile. On the up side, I’ll be seeing two of my surviving kids this coming weekend.

I have a couple of recurring dreams in specific spots doing specific themes and I genuinely look forward to going to sleep so I can have them … but I can only barely remember the details. It’s more like a vague memory that escapes me the second I wake up. But I know I was just at my sister’s house in Maine or in a shopping mall looking for something specific. I mean, I can’t even come up with a decent description of what I dream, I just know it’s epic. Kind of maddening though.

The sun was out with a vengeance earlier, but it rapidly shifted to heavily overcast, and now it’s gently sprinkling. Should stay above freezing overnight, so I just put my agave & lemon outside so they can enjoy a long, light soak (especially good when their soil is bone-dry - a hard watering will run right on through) and the muffled, filtered sunlight (esp. good when they’ve been “cooped up” inside for months - the leaves can burn if suddenly exposed to direct, unfiltered sun).

Laundry is tumbling in the dryer, and I’ve just returned from a successful journey to obtain food & the Devil’s lettuce.

Wanted a breakfast bagel but just wasn’t feelin’ the egg part, so she rung me up for a bagel with bacon, and added cheese - I think it came out cheaper, and it’s perfect. Timmy H does a decent “everything” bagel, nice and crispy.

Even better, the dispo was running a BOGO on the most expensive item I wanted (a vape) and while I’m doubting I’ll be too wild about the banana flavor, the price is right & I’m now set in that department for a while.
I blow (ha!) through those things at work, but two will tide me over for quite a bit.

ETA <Narrator:> “She was not, in fact, wild about the flavor.”

You know how kids these days - or maybe twenty years ago - say things are “da bomb” for good?
Well, “banana taffy” is … not that.
Silver lining, maybe it’ll cut down my usage a bit.

Oh, and the franchise owner of the pizza joint hooked us all up with $10 coupons to Texas Roadhouse, so one of these days when I’m sure the wolves have been chased away, imma treat myself!

From my POV, you did everything right, and you did everything you could. Two different things, really, and you excelled in both aspects.

I bet! :people_hugging:

Alrighty, y’all, this hot cuppa tea ain’t gonna sip itself. Then, onward into the day!
… well, perhaps a short nap first. I do hafta close again tonight, ferrealz this time.

Oh, and …

Wishing you and your much strength in the days ahead, and I absolutely share your hopes for her. May things be peaceful.

Shots Day!

I have laundry going because I coughed so hard during the night that I threw up. Sorry for the TMI. I’ve had this for ages. Sometimes I start to pass out afterward, but apparently that’s nothing to worry about. Doc has talked about sending me to an ENT for possible surgery. I’d rather not.

Damn. Luke Bell’s videos keep popping up on my You Tube feed, and last night was one of the times I caved and gave a listen to “Sometimes” and watched the video. If you can imagine the whiskers and sideburns gone and the hairline restored, you can see what he looked like in high school. The “Sometimes” video includes his sister, Jane, for about 3 seconds. I had her in class, too. I always think I’m just going to enjoy the music, and I always get more emotional than I expect.

I prefer to think of us as having rich, low-register barks, but you’re spot on with nobody controlling or disciplining us. I think doggio threw an anvil at the last commandant well-meaning person who tried, and now TPTB just let us do our own loquacious thing.

I hope you find the perfect apartment that fits your timeline.

I hope so, too, and you’re a wonderful DIL.

I’m so sorry. I’m just so sorry.

FCD isn’t avoiding hospice - he’s just not going to ask about it in front of his mother. When his dad died, the hospice folks were great and we anticipate no less for his mother.

We also have the state form, signed by her doctor, directing no heroic measures be taken. So even if we have to call 911, we’re ready to abide by her wishes.

So now I’m waiting. A huge pot if veggie beef soup is simmering - I’ll add the potatoes later. I washed out a dusty hamper for MIL to use, and I did the dishes. Chill time, I guess.

And I’ll be going to see my mom on Tuesday.

  There is always that cliché that the proof that the Earth is not flat is that if it was, cats would have pushed everything off of it by now.

  On the other hand, about ¾ of the Earth is covered with water, but none of that water is carbonated, so actually, the Earth is flat.

Finally talked to my neighbour, he of the burst pipe and flooded vacation house. He said the leak was 1,500 gallons. Fortunately the Dept of Water & Sewage didn’t charge him for it. He turned the water on today, and he says there are no leaks after Servicemaster came out. There’s still a lot of construction needed to repair the damaged floors and walls, but he’s waiting for the insurance company to give him some money. I looked for the extra meter wrench I had, but couldn’t find it. I was going to give it to him, but he’ll have to get one on his own. They’re cheap. He says he wants to ‘make it up to me’ for turning off his water when I detected the leak. I told him not to worry about it. That’s what neighbours are for.

FCM So sorry about what y’all are going through, but it sounds like you’ve got a plan.

J-batts I’ve been meaning to ask, where in Maine are you from? I grew up in Bidd-Saco, then college at UMO. Been gone from there for a long time now, but still get back on occasion to visit the folks. And, to your interaction with Tony, seems you did everything you could.

MIL is here and she’s mostly been sleeping on the couch. She woke briefly to go to the bathroom, but I had to help her because her walker won’t fit thru the bathroom door. FCD just got back from picking up some stuff from her apartment.

So it begins…

Whoah! Yes, there’s too many things to comment on and so I’m going to miss most of them except to say :::FCM and family::: Things have been fairly uneventful today. Friday is my husband’s birthday (I forget what we used to call him, let’s go with MusicMan). We got a new tv for our living room for his birthday and went to go pick it up today and OMG the picture is so awesome!