I went to the hospital at nine this morning to relieve my cousin that spent the night with her mother. That's tough duty that just makes me so tired, so I am off to take a nap. Looks like I'll do the same thing every day until my aunt is able to be alone. Being a nurse is just not my calling. I am just not cut out for it.
I went to my mom's to help her peel pears this morning. While I was there my cousin in Virginia called and told us that her mother, my aunt, my dad's sister who lives in the assisted living facility right down the road from me, fell last night and broke her hip. She is 91. We had to abandon everything and get to the hospital. Her other daughter, who lives in Shreveport, finally got there after they took her mother to surgery. We left the hospital after my aunt got back in her room because she was just in too much pain for visitors. I hope her daughter stays the night with her, but one can never tell about her. She's a strange one!! If it were my mother, I would have cancelled whatever I had to do and got to that hospital. She, on the otherhand, dawdled around taking her damn sweet time getting to the hospital. I was pissed!
Ever since I moved here one and a half years ago, I have wanted to go see the Imax film, Hurricane on the Bayou. Today was the day. Every Louisiana citizen should see this documentary. The Weather Channel had started filming it to document lost wetlands 3 months before the storm. Apparently, their cameras were rolling during the storm. I don't know how else they could have gotten such awesome pictures. They had film of baby alligators simply being blown away. After the storm, only one was still with the mother at their nest. I have never seen an Imax film that wasn't just incredible.
I need to stop screwing around with my computer! I have been watching lots of Elvis stuff on TV this month, so tonight I decided to purchase some Elvis songs for my ipod. Big surprise was that when I clicked on itunes, it told me to reinstall it. It had some missing parts. What? I haven't opened itunes in months, but I guess I screwed something up. I have spent the last hour downloading it again and re-installing and hoping all my songs would be there if I ever got it to work again! HOT DAMN! Everything is there and it works. I have to have my ipod. I don't use it nearly like I used to because I don't have a nice fitness center to go like I did in Beaumont. I can't use it mowing the yard because I sweat too much, but I LURVE my ipod!!! It's sweet!
My next read will be The Reagan Diaries. I sat in Barnes and Noble one day and started reading this book, but I didn't buy it because it was too expensive. Last week I saw it sitting on a table at a friend's house. She told me to take it with me, but I forgot. Tonight she brought it to me. I am looking forward to kicking back with this book.
I have been on some Dell message boards and found out that Dell is having major production problems. People who ordered their Dells in June still have not received them, yet Dell is still taking orders that they cannot fill and they fail to mention that when the order is placed. According to the message boards, they have lost many, many customers over this. I had hoped to have mine up and running and know how to use it...plus have all my stuff added on it before I leave at the end of September on my road trip. That may not happen. It seems that the magic ship date is August 28th. Everyone seems to have been given that as a target date. Mine was originally due to ship on July 31st and they knew when I ordered it that they were having problems. I just didn't know!! Unlike most people, I don't need mine for work or school. I can wait. All the reviews of the one I ordered are excellent, so I guess I can just chill!!
and NO alcohol was involved. Friday was spent preparing food for the coronation again. We worked from about 9 A.M. until 2:00 P.M. getting all the food to the venue; then at 6 all dressed to kill (black tie event) we were back at the venue getting the food put out to serve. Everything was beautiful and delicious and I have been eating left over stuffed strawberries for two days now. We stuffed two flats of strawberries with cream cheese and powdered sugar mixed up together. Ummmm....GOOD! At 8:00 Saturday morning I was back at the country club helping clean everything up. That didn't take long, but I had to then get ready to take my mom to a bridal shower in another town. As soon as we got done with that, we all went out to our favorite catfish place to eat.
Today I am going to rest. If I had just read my church bulletin earlier, I would have left after Bible Study and skipped church. The sermon was on "marital harmony". Hello....I don't care! Next week he is finishing up that sermon. I will know to leave early next time. It was tortuous for me to sit there this morning.
After having lunch at a friend's house and helping her prepare some of the food for the Coronation tomorrow night, I went to the Social Security Office. I am not now, nor will I ever be eligible for medicare, but my primary insurance tells me that at age 65 I am required to purchase Medicare part B. I did that today effective November 1. It is supposed to reduce my premium that I now pay for my primary insurance. Yeah, right! We'll see! another $93 per month...bye bye!
I thought today would be a day for hanging out at home and just staying cool! Didn't happen. Dad called this morning to ask if I could meet them at Wal Mart and help Mom get groceries. Of course, I did. He handed me a $100 bill as I was leaving. Nice TIP!
This afternoon I had to go to Bossier City to my friend, Joy's, aunt's house. Joy's father has had one of my antique clocks for several months because it wouldn't run since my move. He brought it to Bossier City and I went over to get it. He only had the insides of the clock. I still had the case hanging on my wall. I took the case over there and he put the clock in the case, hung it on a wall and we waited to see if it was going to run. It did. He loaded it in the car and it promptly fell over on the first turn, but I have it hung up now and it has been running for an hour and chiming beautifully. Yep, I'm happy.
It's 101 actual degrees right now! Going outside is NOT an option. I took Mom to the senior revival this morning. She enjoyed it, but it was hard on her. The church is too big and involves too much walking from the parking lot (even the handicapped parking) to the chapel, then to the cafeteria for lunch. She was exhausted. When we got to the cafeteria, I sent her to a table to sit down and I went and got her lunch. I don't think we'll be going to that event anymore.
Meanwhile, my brother was taking care of getting Dad to his audiologist appointment. I believe tomorrow is a day that I can stay home. I hope so.
Mom called and told me that both audiologists had been in touch with them. Tomorrow afternoon I have to get Dad to the audiologist here and he is going to make a new impression and the manufacturer is going to make Dad a completely new hearing aide at no cost. This old one has never fit properly and has fallen out. Thank goodness it fell in his shirt pocket or we would have never found it.
Tomorrow morning I had already made arrangements to take Mom to a Senior Revival at my church. She used to go to it every year and one of the ladies from the church called me and asked me to serve coffee. Her main reason in asking me to serve coffee was that she wanted me to bring my mom. I agreed to it, so now my day will once again be full tomorrow. Maybe my brother will be able to take care of Dad tomorrow.
It's only 1:30 and I am done for the day. My dad's hearing aide died again yesterday, so I found an audiologist here in my town and went to visit him to see if I could bring my dad to him. He said yes....so I went and got Dad and brought him to see the man. He told him something was wrong with the hearing aide and it was not just stopped up. We left it with him for him to send back to the manufacturer since it is still under warranty. Dad has had nothing but trouble with that hearing aide, which is supposed to be top of the line. He told Mom that he wished he could just die and get on out of the way. That makes me sad that he thinks he is in the way. He is not. We will take care of him just like he has taken care of us.
I picked a bucket full of okra when I took him back home. Okra is one of my favorites, so I'll be having that later on today. Right now it is nap time while I water the yard!!!
I have lived in this house 18 months and have wondered why the master bath is freakin' cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Finally, I climbed up tonight to feel in front of the vent...NOTHING is coming out! Now I will have to call the people who put in the AC Monday to come out and check it out. Since I waited so long, I will probably have to pay them now. I'm such a procrastinator...Now it could cost me. I hate for anyone to have to go in the attic in this heat. It was 100 degrees in my garage today, so it is 130 in the attic.
The temp on my computer right now says 99 degrees. I don't enjoy hot weather, but I went with a friend early this morning to our Krewe Den where our Mardi Gras float is stored. It's a 40,000 square foot unairconditioned building and we were there to clean it up and get organized for the upcoming season. There were 6 of us and we knocked it out quickly so we could get out of there. Our theme this year is "Hello, Broadway" so we will begin soon to change the float up some to reflect that. I have to pay my $50 float riding fee and buy 2 cases of beads to throw. I'll probably ride in two parades. That looks like the most fun of all the activities.
When I left there, I had to go buy eggs and take them to my mom. Dad walked with me out to see the tomato plants that the moles are eating, but he went to his room to lie down after that. He is going to the community party at their church tonight. He wanted me to come, so I have to get ready to go back down there for that. What ever he wants...that's what I will do and I will do it without complaint!
I called my mom a little while ago. Since Dad was not in the house, she told me that he was in bad shape, but he didn't want anyone to know how bad off he is. He cannot breathe in spite of the fact that he uses his nebulizer on a regular basis. He told her that he thought he was nearly dead. Lately, he doesn't even want breakfast. Usually, that's the only meal that he will eat. He weighs 147 pounds. He is tired and ready to go to his heavenly home.
When I walked out through the garage this morning to go get the paper, there was yet another ground rattler snake in my garage. It was smaller than the last one, but it was still a SNAKE! After that happens, I am traumatized for a while. No one is more afraid of snakes than I am. This one was traveling along next to the wall headed straight for the door. Thank goodness he was on that side of the garage where there is not much stuff. If he came in the other side, there would be lots of places to hide. I would just die!!!!
After lunch with the ladies today, I tackled my mother's prescription drug company. Her doc gave her a prescription last Thursday for some pain patches. The damned insurance company says that has to be pre-authorized! Forget that the doctor says she needs it....what does he know! Of course, insurance companies all know more than doctors!! I lost the battle and the pain patches are $200, which Mom will not pay. Those insurance companies really chap my ass!! I'm MAD! My mother should be able to put one of those on her hand that hurts all the time or her foot that hurts all the time. GRRRRR!!!
Disclosure: I got this as an email and I totally concur!!
First of all, Dell should show up on the caller I.D. instead of "toll free number". I don't answer toll free numbers. They left a message that my order ship date wouldn't be until August 28th and I would have to call them and give them the "go ahead" to complete my order. They are required to do this since shipping is delayed that much. I called and was on "hold" for over an hour before I gave up and used the email address they had given me to use. I would have preferred to talk to a person, but DAMN....I got tired of their asinine music and "we are sorry for your wait...please hold"! Well NO...I'm not going to hold any more and I came really close to cancelling the whole order because of that long wait!! I didn't, but I sure thought about it.
