She's Home

Mom is officially home. She is still weak and disoriented, but she is home. Her cat was thrilled. She will have home health visits by a physical therapist and a nurse three times a week. She can walk some with a walker but tires easily.

I still can't seem to get enough sleep. And this week at work has been so crazy. I'm supposed to be "catching up", but I'm only treading water.

I wish I could go back to bed.

A Sign of Hope

So Mom did so well yesterday that she may be able to go home today. She will require home health care for a while, but at least she will be home.

I am extremely tired. It seems that no matter how I try, I cannotget more that 7 hours sleep.

I read the second Jack Kerley novel over the week-end...very good. Then I read a romantic suspense I found laying around by Jasmine Cresswell. The suspense was good, the romance mediocre.

I'm waiting on the latest Tami Hoag from the library, and for the release of the latest in two series that I read by Victoria Thompson and Janet Evanovich.

My mantra for today? It's got to be better than yesterday.

In Review

First, WAITRESS. It was one of those movies you left with a smile on your face. I immediately wanted to see it again. And I wanted pie. Kerri Russell was sweet and cute and Nathan Fillian was charming.

Second, movie night. Only one of my GF's had ever seen Rachael and the Stranger, so it was a treat to introduce it to them. William Holden was so handsome, Loretta Young so lovely. But all I could think of when watching Robert Mitchum was Matt LeBlanc. I had never before been struck by the similarities, but I kept expecting Robert Mitchum to say "How you doin'?"

Topper was masked by...go figure...conversation. We would occasionally turn to watch the movie, but discussions of the finally of Lost and Heroes, among other things, kept distracting us.

The food was good. I made Sloppy Joes and had bought a chocolate pie. Karen made a delicious bean salad and brought strawberries and bananas. Lesa came with an assortment of goodies including Chex Mix, mozzarella sticks, stuffed jalapenos, and cole slaw. Ruth brought a yummy lemon chess pie, and Kim made a wonderful lemon cake.

Then I was up early yesterday morning to go visit Mom. I left the house a little after seven but made a stop at Walmart before hitting the road. I made it to the hospital a little before eleven. Sis had spent the night and Dad had come to relieve her until I arrived. He stayed thru lunch and the went home to do some things around the house. Mom had a visit from friends during the afternoon and then Dad came back in time for dinner. He left before seven and I settled in for the evening.

I am quite frightened about Mom's health. Her speech is slurred much of the time and she has lost quite a bit of motor control. There is a slackness on one side of her face. And she is so confused. So I spoke to my cousin this morning. Emily is an OT and far more knowledgeable about such things than I. She said that without seeing her, it sounded as though Mom might have had a small TIA. The most reassuring thing she said was that if had been something else, the doctors would have been giving her brain scans.

Let's talk about the confusion....last nite I confirmed the time every 15 t0 20 minutes. "Is it 3:00?" "Yes ma'am, it is 3:00." "Is it 4 or 5?" "It's 4." Then there was the "Where am I?" Every few minutes she asked, in some form or another, where she was. Her feet were cold. Her feet were hot. Her hand hurt (the antibiotic IV), she wanted to sit up, she wanted to raise the bed, she wanted to lower the bed. Aren't those curtains pretty? Where was Harvey? Who was going to stay the night? All in a regular rotation.

I came back to Mom and Dad's to get a little sleep, but find that I am unable to do so. I think that the time has come for me to consider packing up and moving back. My heart hurts.

A Good Report

I had a long, good conversation with my sister tonight. Mom is doing much better. She seems quite relieved. So am I.

Tomorrow is movie day. I'm going to see Waitress in the afternoon and then will have the gang over tomorrow night to watch classic movies. I know I want to show Rachael and the Stranger but am torn on the second feature...All About Eve, Leave Her to Heaven or Dark Victory. I have, however decided to make Sloppy Joes. Ymmm.

I'm torn between crawling into bed and watching the Monk marathon or soaking in the tub with a book. I'm reading the sequel to the book I read over the week-end. The Death Collectors by Jack Kerley.

Decisions, decisions...

BLIND IN ONE EYE AND BLONDE IN THE OTHER

I broke my glasses this morning and couldn't find my back-up pair. So I drove to work this morning winking at the world.

Mom is in for another couple of days in the hospital. They are concerned that two weeks of inactivity will have caused some muscle atrophy and hope to give her some physical therapy before sending her home.

I worry about my dad, who is wearing himself out trying to stay with mom and maintain the garden and his yard.

Back to work...until the optical place opens.

Is this day over yet?!!!!!

I'm working the late shift tonight. I left the house the morning at 8:30 and headed off to have my car inspected before getting my new tag. It didn't pass. Now I've got 30 days to have it fixed.

Since I had spent all of my cash on the inspection and I was jonzing for some caffeine, I went to Walgreens to get a Diet Coke and some cash. There was a very punky young woman in line behind me, pierced and tattooed and extremely sad, buying a pregnancy test. Ooops! I got to the office in time to do about 40 minutes of work before we headed to a local park for our team-building picnic/potluck. We ate and played games for about 2 hours before heading back and tackling an accumulated mountain of work.

I am exhausted. I've decided I work too hard.

And allow me a moment to rant. I hate to do the potluck thing and spend hours cooking something and have it be neglected over store-bought options. I baked a banana cake with chocolate frosting and another co-worker baked a dessert. There was also a pie from the freezer sectin of the supermarket, a cake and some cookies from the supermarket bakery, and a package of Oreos. The Oreos and bakery cookies were gone. The bakery cake did not fare as well, but the pie was almost gone while there were plenty of left-overs of the home-baked goods.

It makes me feel that people think I cook in unsanitary conditions. I am the first to admit that I am a casual housekeeper, but I am fanatical about my kitchen. The counters and appliances get bleached daily and the floors are mopped twice a week. My hands get washed so much when I cook that they are raw by the time I'm done. Am I deceiving myself in thinking I am a good cook?

Anyway, my system is back up, so it is back to work.

Gee! My House Smells Terrific

We are having a "team building" picnic potluck at work tomorrow, and I signed up for a dessert. I had everything handy, so I made a banana cake that I will ice with chocolate frosting. This cake smells soooo good.

We have a new American Idol. Nyeh. I lost interest when Melinda went home. I did like seeing Taylor Hicks again. And Rueben Studdard. And I always love seeing Kelly Clarkson. I honestly think they wasted the show with other "special guest stars" like Gwen Stephani and Bette Middler. I would have rather seen the 12 finalists do more performing.

Mom had a stint put into her foot today and is in step-down until tomorrow.

I'm off to frost a cake.