CAREGIVING: Today was “Columbus Day” here. Even though I am half Italian I don’t think Columbus warrants his own day for getting here after everybody else. I didn’t get the day off.
Marty giving the chickens a gander.
Updates: Kathy seems to be doing pretty well – stable is the term. On Sunday, Pat washed her hair and I gave her a haircut. I clean her teeth twice a day: once really good with flossing; and again with just brushing and suction. Marty and I mowed the leaves on Sunday. Well, Marty slept in the sun, on the leaves. Then he noticed the neighbor’s chickens coming to inspect my work and he was somewhat alert. With a basset, alert is a relative term. The chickens moved away and he relaxed again. I watched part of the football game and a show called Family Tree on Amazon. It is a funny mockumentary by Christopher Guest (Spinal Tap, Best of Show) about genealogy. Since I have been trying to trace my father’s roots, I found it hilarious.
Our aide, Betsy, came this morning. Kathy was breathing pretty well, so I went to pick up Kathy’s prescriptions at Stop & Shop; and did the grocery shopping. I felt like I was in a fog for some reason. When I got to the pharmacy counter, Kathy’s liquid Depakote was ready. They handed me a huge bag with four bottles of stuff in it. I started to grab it and go. But, I realized I had no clue how to measure it, or anything. So, I went through it with them. They gave me some tiny syringes to measure it with. If you remember my post on her meds, the Depakote was giving me trouble. It has a hard pink shell coating which doesn’t dissolve. I was worried it would plug her tube, so I strain it through pieces of window screening. I am getting used to the liquid. At least with the pills and the pill-box I know whether I have given her the meds or not. For the time being I am leaving the old Depakote pills in the box. It helps me count from one to two.
On my way back, I stopped at Rocky’s Hardware and picked up some bungee cords. Pat wanted to hang Kathy’s nightgown in front of a little electric heater. She wants to take the chill out of it before putting it on her. Since she is right there, it is safe. My idea was to put her clothes in the microwave on low. Pat didn’t like that one. I also picked up a gallon of off-white “oops” paint for my desk / man-cave project. It has a slight green cast to it. It might also be perfect for the bathroom (if I ever get around to it). The label on the top is crossed out in angry bold italic by the original purchaser, “Not even close to the swatch!!!” Perfect for me. though.
On my way to and from the car I checked the camera just to make sure Kathy was still doing OK. Sometimes I like to use the Google Maps GPS thing on my phone. Even though I know the way, it is nice to have “company”. I call her, Googal. She has a young generic California voice, I guess. At least she gets the street names right. The voice in my bluetooth earpiece is a little lower, more mature and a little sexier. She doesn’t say much: “Power on, volume high, Connected!” That’s about it. I have an Australian chick, Karen, on my Garmin GPS, but we had a falling out. She has old maps and sounds irritated when she has to “recalculate.” Well, excuse me! I’m easily entertained.