i need a leaf blower today!

…they just had an earthquake.  give me 105 any day!

beatrix potter’s birthday!  so sweet!

my husband is flying to a place where the high will be 71 today, while ours is expected to be 105.  my consolation is that he’ll be indoors working…  but i’d sure love to stowaway and spend the day at the beach.

i just received my electric bill - $728!!!!!  now, part of that we were keeping the house cooler for the 6 days my mom was here and very sick but we also had the thermostat at 90 for 6 days while we were out of town.  my rate jumped from 11.8¢ per kwh to 19.7¢ per kwh.  i just did another switch and locked in 14.1¢ for 3 years.  i was looking at the website of the co-op that serves part of my town (but not me) and their rates are a mere 7.8¢.   dang.

my brother and i have both now been asked by doctors if we are medically trained because we seem to know a lot of stuff.  no, we’re just learning it as we go along here with our sick mother.  she’s currently in a long term acute care facility trying to get well enough to have gallbladder surgery but while they were doing nothing she developed blood clots in her legs… and now i’m thinking that should have put those cuffs on her legs to keep her blood circulating.  but why do i have to be the one to think of it (but it’s too late now, she has clots)?  why do we have to push them to just do their job?  it’s frustrating to say the least.

but on the upside…

…it is much easier having her here than in east texas.

…our trip to nj for the anniversary went well.  we got to see all the nieces and nephews - two of them taught me how to text message faster, even (i wish they’d come visit us in tx).  i prefer hanging out with the teens over the grown ups so i did.

…we visited philadelphia, city of brotherly love, and thought it was funny that the tolltaker on the benjamin franklin bridge on the way in had some song playing that said, “i looooooove youuuuuuu…..”  we got to see the liberty bell and took a tour of independence hall - ranger gus gave us a great tour.  turns out we were there during the 90 days per year that they open the second floor for tours.   i wish we’d had more time to explore the city.

…we bought a memory foam topper for our mattress which we hope extends the life of our bed - so far we really like it.

i had my mom here for about 6 days then thursday she couldn’t stand up and was feeling dizzy.  i called 911 for the first time in my life.  they determined she would be safe to transport in my vehicle, so they got her in for me and i took her to the er.  she was there for about 9 hours and then was admitted into the progressive care unit, one step below icu.  yesterday they moved her to icu.  today they are moving her back to pcu.  she’s been through the wringer with tests and is in pain and exhausted.  i think i cried most of thursday and friday.  maybe i’m exhausted, too.  and we leave in 5 days for my inlaw’s 50th wedding anniversary celebration.  i hope mom is well enough at that time that i can feel okay going… i hope she turns the corner on whatever it is that’s going on with her…

my mom is staying with us right now while she recuperates from her close call with death and subsequent hospitalization.  she is on almost 20 medications every day.  i am getting a bit more used to it, but it is still somewhat overwhelming and the weight on my shoulders to remember it all at the right time is emotionally exhausting.  24 hours a day we listen to the hum and hiss of the oxygen concentrator.  she has to use a walker, too.  i’ve been able to fall asleep quickly every night and am thankful that she hasn’t needed anything during the night so i can sleep.  i tossed and turned last night, though, because the cardiologist called to discuss bloodwork results and i wasn’t here and he didn’t return my callback yesterday.  today she has 2 more doctor appointments.  it will be a tiring day for us…  and i can’t help wondering when my life will go back to normal.