Sunday Stealing-Extraordinary Penpals

Hi! Your host is Bev Sykes of the blog "Funny the World". . Welcome to Sunday Stealing. This feature originated and published on WTIT: The Blog. Here we will steal all types of questions from every corner of the blogosphere. Our promise to you is that we will work hard to find the most interesting and intelligent questions. Cheers to all of us thieves! 

Stolen from League of Extraordinary Penpals

1. What are your plans for August? To have my family and I survive it without getting the coronavirus. We all have underlying conditions, and my daughter also has asthma. The state fair we attended last year would have begun Friday. Since it was canceled, I’ve decided that we will recreate some of our fair favorites. We’ll be starting at the end the week. I have to work around physical therapy and doctor appointments.

2. Review the first half of 2020. It’s been a 💩 show since the beginning of the year, and continues to be. No need to relive it in our minds.

3. A place you’d go if money were no object. New Zealand, Australia. Somewhere that the coronavirus was quickly gotten under control and has virtually stopped spreading.  

4. Who was your childhood best friend. We were friends since our parents had their homes built in the subdivision and we moved in. We stopped being friends when I was a freshman in high school. She was a sophomore and felt she couldn’t be friends with a freshman. I got a call around this time of year in 1996 or 1997 that she had a malignant brain tumor. She wanted to see me. Because of circumstances at that time I couldn’t travel. She passed away later in the year. I did attend her funeral and spent time with her Mom and sister. 

5. The city or town you love most. My kind of town, Chicago is...I really did enjoy living there. I could walk out my door, walk to the corner and hail a cab or catch a bus. Where I live now there is no bus service and cabs are never around. If you want a cab you’d have to call for one and you’d have to pay extra because of the distance they’d have to drive to get here. I also miss my hometown.

6. How do you spend hot days? In air conditioning, sipping ice water.

7. Are you a skilled cook or baker? I’m both, but since I’m watching carbs, I seldom bake. I cook all types of cuisine. I was supposed to make Indian food last night but as it turned out, several ingredients were bad, so the chicken was put in the freezer and will be made later in the week after grocery shopping.

8. One thing you wish you could currently do. All the things I used to be able to do before my car accident. I did most of the repairs on my home myself, as well as yard work. Now I have to pay people, which is hard to do being on a limited income.

9. A time when you learned your lesson. I’m married now, but when I was dating I should have paid more attention. Looking back now I see that I had several “relationships” where I was being used. Whether it was financially, or otherwise. I also had a friend during that time that would make plans, then on the day of she’d see what her other options were and picked the one she liked best and she never bothered to let me know she made other plans. I’d be left hanging. This person is my sister in law’s fiancé. I have resisted making plans with her because fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...Nope. My wife made plans with them to celebrate my birthday last month. I told my wife not to do it because of the past, but she insisted. Guess what? They never showed up for my birthday last month. The former friend ruined my birthday 9 years ago telling my girlfriend (now wife) to not worry about making plans, the food, the cake, and inviting people...she would handle it all. Apparently something better came up because there was no party, no people invited, nothing.

10, What consistently makes you laugh. My immediate family. We’re always yuckin’ it up.

11. Routines that bring you calm and peace. I need to find some. I think they would calm my anxiety. It’s difficult to have routines now because of my insomnia, pain, medical appointments.

12. Who annoys you the most? I’m just going to keep this one to myself. It’s not anyone on here or a family member. 

13. Describe some of your favorite household items. Hard to say. 

14. What have you gotten better at? 🙋🏻 L arm. I can raise it all the way up! I haven’t been able to do that since my son was 4, he’s 25 now. Surgeon at the time didn’t believe in PT. I’ve had PT since, but my back was the focus. Now I’m focused on the shoulders. It still pops and I have pain at times, but I can’t stop showing off my L arm. 😂 My R arm is toast. I am in constant pain. I had an evaluation at my last PT appointment. There was a little improvement in range of motion, but the pain is still constant. Also, I have become less of an introvert, not quite an extrovert, but I have come a long way. I start conversations when I’m out and about, and I’m a fierce advocate for my daughter.

15. Share a random memory. I think a lot about my Mom doing laundry with her wringer washing machine. I used to watch her do laundry when I was a kid. I’m guessing this memory keeps popping up because I think about laundry a lot. My machines were ruined when my sump pump died.

16. How many pairs of shoes do you have? This is a tough one. I used to only have 1 pair of dress shoes and 1 pair of sneakers. Now I have 3 pairs of sneakers, a pair of pumps, 3 other pairs of dress shoes, 1 pair of boat shoes, and 3 pairs of boots (1 pair dress boots, 1 pair of hiking boots, and 1 pair of motorcycle boots.) So that’s 11 pairs. Wow! 

17. Who do you go to for encouragement? My wife.

18. References you make that others don’t get. Anything Wisconsinish. Bubblers (not drinking fountains). There are a few others I can’t think of now. I also use obscure quotes from movies in conversation. Oh, and I know a lot of Yiddish, which no one understands where I live now.

19. What are 10 things you consider essential for you? Air, water, food, clothing, medication, transportation, a home, my family, tv and books, my iPhone.

20. Is there any accent you wish you had? I don’t know if I could pick one accent. I mean, hearing myself talk with an accent isn’t as exciting or interesting as hearing someone else talk with an accent.

Lola’s Diner  cc  2008-2020

Day 140, 141 of Sheltering In

Friday, Saturday. Friday a friend of my wife’s came over and blocked me on my driveway so I couldn’t leave for the laundromat. Gosh darn it! So 2 hours after she left my son and I went to Walmart to get some things for my daughter and had a short visit when we dropped them off. Nutjob better learn to stay away from my Buick or there will be real trouble. We were on the patio (socially distanced and masks) and she walked to my car and started knocking on the windows insisting a staff member was in my car. She would not stop, would not walk away from my car even though my daughter told her my car was empty and that staff member was not there, so we had to cut the visit short. I felt bad, but anything we can do to avoid confrontation or vandalism, we’re going to do because I don’t have bail money and I can’t afford a new window or high deductible, and I have my doubts about recouping my money. 

Saturday I was going to make Indian food for dinner, but ran into problems. The potatoes we had were bad, and every jar of ghee was expired, even the unopened ones. I took the wrapper and lid off one, smelled it and chucked them all. Funky! Smelled like Parmesan cheese. I had a spray bottle of ghee, but after I took off the wrapper and tried to use it, it didn’t work. I waved the white flag and that was the end of it. I could get by without ghee for the chicken recipe, but saag paneer would not taste right without it and it makes no sense to waste the other ingredients making a recipe missing an important flavor. I was looking forward to having Indian food for dinner. My son and I haven’t had it since pre-lockdown.

My brother in law was over to mow the lawn. I haven’t been outside, but I’m guessing he mowed the front and side yard. He had my son running around raking and pulling weeds. 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 139 of Sheltering In

Thursday. It was supposed to be laundry day, but my wife said she needed a ride to the doctor. So I slept in, got up and she says no, I don’t need a ride. So we went grocery shopping. We bought the ingredients for an Indian feast. I’ve been craving Indian food. Chicken Tikka Masala, Aloo Gobi, Saag Paneer, Naan, Samosas. I’ve previously made Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer, and Samosas. I think I’ll make the Aloo Gobi a day ahead, and the Samosas if I can. I will have to see how I feel. I wish I could make Cauliflower Naan and Masala Dosa. Haven’t had either since I lived in Chicago. I found a recipe for Cauliflower Naan!

Also at the store, Meijer, we got a 50lb bag of sand for 1/2 the price of Home Depot. Came home, directed my son on where to roll the Basketball Hoop, and how to place the bag on top and 2 patio pavers and 2 bricks. Then I had to try it out. Can I tell you how stupid that was? While I write L handed, I use my R hand for just about everything else, including shooting hoops. I have no strength in my R arm, so I moved closer and closer to the hoop. I made 3 shots. My son got some great exercise running to get the ball. My bad! 

I  H A T E  D O I N G  L A U N D R Y ! ! ! 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 138 of Sheltering In

Wednesday. I have used 12x12 patio pavers and bricks to weigh down the basketball hoop base and on our old one. It worked fine, but Anastasia had to butt in and ask for the darn hose. NO! I don’t care that she paid for it, she doesn’t care that water will make it garbage for next year, ‘oh, I’ll just buy him a new one.’ Really? It’s my house and my driveway and my cars will be parked nearby and if I want to fill it with sand AND  use patio pavers and bricks then that’s what I’m gonna do. (This is tornado alley, better safe than sorry.) But gosh darn it, if I say that’s what I’m gonna do, that’s what I’m gonna do. 

I picked up my son after a grueling PT session (they did measurements, and showed 4 exercises to do at home with bands since I’ve progressed so well). We went to Ace Hardware where we were told they don’t have any sand. Umm not true, according to their website, but if they did have it they kept it well hidden. I got home and looked at Home Depot’s website. They had 3 different brands and that was without scrolling down. Combined, over 500 bags IN stock. So we will trek over there after taking my wife to the doctor. The edema in her legs is so bad it’s difficult to move her foot for the gas and brake. So I will play taxi driver. I’m afraid there may be another trip to the ER.

Did I say grueling PT? My R shoulder/arm is screaming, the L isn’t anywhere near as bad, but my lower back and sciatica is terribly painful. I felt not too bad before PT, but after showing me the home exercises I had difficulty getting out and to my car and into my house after the failed Ace run. Hopefully I will feel better in the morning. I would even be happy with a bit better.

My daughter saw our doctor today. She did not get the note that she wanted. It only included no work. It did not include no Day Program, so she had to call and ask for another note. So far staff has been more accepting of her staying at the group home on the days they go to Day Program. She told them to provide her with whatever worksheets they do and she will complete them. She can also have game time (DS) and craft time. I have a feeling the staff may have gotten talked to after the debacle that was Monday night’s trip to the ER. I have not made contact with the Director. I am letting my daughter advocate for herself and the staff and supervisor better step up and do their jobs, or I won’t hesitate to contact the Director if my daughter has difficulty reaching her.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 137 of Sheltering In

Tuesday. Turns out my daughter had a UTI. They gave her an Rx for a strong antibiotic. The good in this, if there is any, was that she got the ultrasounds that she’s supposed to have gotten over 2 months ago and the group home office never scheduled them. She had them, they show the cyst is relatively the same size compared to her previous ultrasounds. (The were also done at the same hospital so the tech was able to compare them. My daughter got a copy of the results, which I of course read.) My daughter called the supervisor around 1:00am to ask how she was supposed to get home. She had to call several times before she got an answer. She was told to have the hospital call for a ride and bill it to the insurance. (Apparently the hospital doesn’t have taxi vouchers. I got stuck at a hospital past 4am because I rode in the ambulance with her and the hospital called me a taxi and used a voucher. This was about 9 years ago.) The 1:00am call was the supervisor’s fault for not telling my daughter how to get home when she ok’d the ambulance ride. Had she told my daughter at that time, my daughter wouldn’t have needed to call her at 1:00am. My daughter got back to her group home at 2am. I know this because my daughter called me at 2am. 🤦🏻

I had to get up early, drive over to my daughter’s group home, pick up the Rx and get it filled and take it back to my daughter. I also went to Walmart and picked up salad fixin’s and sparkling water and took them to my daughter. She wanted something light to eat for lunch and dinner.

Came home and Anastasia came by with her wife shortly after. Anastasia bought my son a basketball hoop on a stand and they assembled it, along with my wife. It took them a couple hours because they assembled it incorrectly and had to take it all apart, and assemble it correctly. I went outside and watched the show. Thank goodness for the masks we were all wearing cuz I could easily hide my smiles and smirks, and cover my giggles with coughs from watching Anastasia and her wife assembling the thing. My wife was even giving me a look because of the arguing. Ok, my bad for laughing, but they deserved it cuz Anastasia kept bad mouthing me and talking smack. Every damn time she is over, or we go there to pick up my son from visiting, she does it. She did it on the phone with me last night. I wanna know why she thinks it’s ok to do it. I’m not the one who caused the break up, nor have I ever belittled her or talked smack at her, but I have to suck it up because she does this in front of my son. I don’t belittle her, bad mouth her and make fun of her like she does to me. In fact, I would say that I don’t talk much because when I do she does it more. Why do I put up with it? Because I love my kids and they want to continue having a relationship her. My kids notice it and tell me after they’ve gone. I will say that my wife does notice it and doesn’t like it, but we don’t say anything because of the kids. One day I may punch her in the face, or my wife may, but for now I pull up my big girl panties and make an exit as soon as I can. 

Anastasia went on for 20 minutes about how she knows I won’t get sand to fill the base. I don’t want water put in it because that makes it a disposable basketball hoop cuz no one will remember to empty it in late fall and the base will freeze and crack. I’m going to Ace Hardware tomorrow for sand. I couldn’t find it on the Lowe’s app. 

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 136 of Sheltering In

Monday. What an exhausting day. Let’s fast forward to the 💩 show that continues to unfold. My daughter has severe abdominal pain on the right side. She still has her appendix. It’s also the side where she has a cyst on her ovary. Staff won’t do anything. I told my daughter to call her Insurance’s 24 hour nurse hotline. She did and was told she needed to go to the ER. Staff still refused. My daughter tried calling the supervisor over the team lead but she never answers, so I called, then I texted. I finally got a text reply asking the symptoms saying she needed to talk to their nurse to get consent for my daughter to go to the ER. Really? The insurance company nurse hotline said to go to the ER, if it wasn’t serious do you think the insurance company would tell her to go to the ER? Eventually the supervisor said she got authorization from their nurse to call paramedics and she would call staff to have them call after staff passed medications to all the clients. 

She was taken via ambulance to the hospital. She’s had the usual tests, an IV, a CT scan, and will be having ultrasounds shortly. I have to give her credit, she had registration contact me to complete her registration and they confirmed I am to be contacted about her condition. Thank goodness! Since living in the group home she’s had 2 previous hospital trips where I didn’t know where she was for 3 days. 

My knee buckling left as mysteriously as it came, but I awoke nauseous. I had to cancel PT. I felt nauseous til 5pm, and didn’t eat anything all day. I had a headache, so I took my temperature throughout the day. Normal. I had dinner and the nausea is gone.

UPDATE:  Turns out it was a UTI. They gave her an Rx for a strong antibiotic. The good in this, if there is any, was that she got the ultrasounds that she’s been supposed to have gotten over 2 months ago and the group home office never scheduled them. She had them, they show the cyst is relatively the same size compared to her previous ultrasounds. (The were also done at the same hospital so the tech was able to compare them. My daughter got a copy of the results, which I of course read.) My daughter called the supervisor around 1am to ask how she was supposed to get home. She had to call several times before she got an answer. She was told to have the hospital call for a ride and bill it to the insurance. (Apparently the hospital doesn’t have taxi vouchers. I got stuck at a hospital past 4am because I rode in the ambulance with her and the hospital called me a taxi and used a voucher. This was about 9 years ago.) The 1am call was the supervisor’s fault for not telling my daughter how to get home when she ok’d the ambulance ride. My daughter got back to her group home at 2am. I know this because my daughter called me at 2am. 🤦🏻

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020

Day 135 of Sheltering In

Sunday. Felt like crap the whole day. Another migraine and still stuffy. Oh, bonus, abdominal pain. Can’t imagine why...everyone is getting along famously. NOT! 

Did my usual Sunday. Didn’t leave the house, watched In the Kitchen With David on QVC. I really miss when they cooked and gave out the recipe. Maybe it’s the changes due to the coronavirus? I dunno. I napped for hours. 

My R shoulder is screaming down to my elbow. Overnight a fascinating new ailment began. I’ve had the R knee pain, which comes and goes as arthritis sometimes does, and sciatica on the R side. Late last night and this morning my R leg was buckling with every step, or every step or two. It was nearly constant. It lessened since late this morning.

Lola’s Diner cc.  2008-2020