Quarantine and chill and kindness chatty clubhouse: Jump in and join the conversation! All is welcome!

[lynxstch]

Good cloudy morning. Temps should hit 50 today and climb through the weekend. I didn't sleep well again last night. Fell asleep around midnight, after watching Survivor, and I am not happy with who went home. Now I have one more person on my 'needs to go home next' list. I woke at 2 and my heart was racing. I took an extra pill, and finally fell back asleep at 4 am. Woke up at almost 8.

I'm going to give the pantry cabinet another go. I just can't figure out where 2 bars go. I know where they should do, but it doesn't match the illustration, lol.

I'm going to bring up the rest of the trash and put it in the shed for next week. I'll give the elliptical another mile or so this morning and try to up it a little more this afternoon.

Have a great Thursday everyone

 

[tazdev3225]

Good morning everyone.

I have been AWOL the past few weeks although I did pop on occasionally to keep up to date. I wish I had responded at the time, but I was really busy and didn't take those few moments to pass along hugs, prayers and well wishes.

As I said I have been busy. I had a nice Thanksgiving at my parents' house, if for no other reason than I could spend some time with my dad. Of course, he is still not that strong and we all kept a close eye on him as he handled the dishes going around the table. I did especially as I was seated on his left side, and he managed to spill his entire and FULL glass of water over on me at the start of dinner.

Black Friday I was shopping all day with my daughter and granddaughter. I mostly give cash now to the older grandkids which makes it easier but I did spend enough to get $30 in Kohls Cash. It is a promotion they offer every now and then and on Black Friday it is $15 per $50 spent. I used that yesterday to get a Waffle Maker. I really don't need one but I haven't been as happy with Kohls lately as they are trying to hard to be more upscale. I couldn't find anything else to use the cash on but I got a great deal. The waffle maker is a Cuisinart, marked down to $40. After the Kohl's cash and 20% coupon I spent $8 for an $80 waffle maker. Now to decide what to do with it.

The entire week after Thanksgiving was my normal routine of getting the grandkids to school and picking them up PLUS 2 doctors' appointments, and getting ready for the holiday tea at church, and taking Ella and her friends to Peddlers Village for her birthday. Two more doctors' appointments this week for my husband and I am done until after the holidays.

I did get a chance to get my tree up and decided I really don't like it. My daughter got one last year that I fell in love with. I went out bought one just like it and then offered the other tree, which was in perfect working condition, for free to someone in need on a neighborhood Facebook page, I felt as though I was called to do that, and a woman responded almost immediately that she had a friend who was starting over and could really use the tree for her kids. I was happy that my offer was taken in the spirit I wanted. Really put me in a holiday mood.

Hope you all have a great day

 

[flyingdumbo127]

so much Dazed, Lynn, and Snowysmom, too. All three of you are so courageously kind and lovely. Thank you for the beautiful gift of sharing and support you give. Thank you for trusting in us to love and pray for you.

Last night was a hard one. Yesterday, Grace of God, I had made great progress. Hardest thing for me is getting up from either bed or a chair. Dad and I did rest during the day. Last night for an endless couple hours I tried so hard to fall asleep. Not happening. Leg and feet hurting and due to being stretched out.

I felt terrible finally disturbing dad who, of course, was exhausted. Mercy of God, I got up and eventually was able to use bathroom. Dad, God Bless him truly, even tried making me some cocoa as a relaxer, his sweet idea.

Ultimately, we decided to get me to the table/desk in my room. Bed not the best option because I would probably have been in earlier situation again. During the day yesterday, medicine kicked in and I was also plain tired of course, I discovered the kitchen table with a pillow or blanket pillow is a great resting spot. I do better sitting than lying down. Of course, need to be careful not to zit too long. Table/desk is lower than kitchen table. God graced me with some sleep this way.

I am in some foot pain now. I do always feel better having moved with the walker so that God willing will happen soon. I will from now not just endlessly lie in bed hurting. I can also take a first ibuprofen dose. Pray it helps.

I did order on Amazon what I am praying are very wide legged pajama pants that are coming tomorrow. Somehow today I have to put on clean bottoms One thing at a time. How beyond blessed I am God is with me a million percent of the time. It also helps to remember I have only been home a day or two since Monday and have progressed for sure by His grace.

Thank you all for your continuing love and prayers. Xo

 

[leebee]

@flyingdumbo127 I do not know if it would help, but would you get more rest if you had a recliner? You could be sitting up but still have your legs somewhat elevated, which could help with swelling, which will help reduce pain. We bought a motorized one for DH due to shoulder surgery, but I was surprised to see the "regular" recliners started at about $200. Not trivial, but not as bad as I'd thought they'd be. We bought DH's at Bob's Discount Furniture and they delivered it, brought it right upstairs to the bedroom and set it up.

Also, while it might be TMI, I would not have made it through recovery after my knee replacement surgery without this:
https://www.amazon.com/LUXE-Bidet-N...f-cleaning/dp/B00P2XZIP2?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1
I went almost 3 weeks without showering, until I felt stable enough to get in and out of the shower. Using this little toilet mounted bidet made it possible!

Also after my knee surgery, my doctor prescribed 800mg ibuprofen three times a day (to reduce inflammation) and two extra-strength tylenol every six hours (for pain management). She also said if I took the TylenolPM at night, instead of the regular tylenol, it would help me sleep. I'm not a medical professional and am in no way telling you what would work best for you, just sharing what worked for me.

I do so hope you get over your foot pain. You are too kind and sweet to have to be suffering so! Know that I keep you in my thoughts... always.

 

[footballmouse]

I’d love to hear about your gam.

We played "Never Have I Ever". I didn't put in too revealing questions since it was a work party. Some of the questions I had were Never had I ever got a speeding ticket; broken a bone; got a tattoo; been to a Disney park; ran a marathon; missed a flight; used a fake ID. Things like that. If they did do what I read off then they had to stand and change seats with someone else standing. The gift stayed at the seat. When the game was over, you opened the gift that was sitting by your chair.

After the Kohl's cash and 20% coupon I spent $8 for an $80 waffle maker.

Nice!!!!

However, such a thing is exactly what I desperately need now in pajama pants.

I've seen people wearing the boot on the outside of their pant leg, have you tried that?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thaks, Pea. I definitely think spacing out better the ibuprofen will help. I did feel sleepy with the higher dose and need to feel more that way right now not a couple hours ago! What do you think I should try to take and how long? My friend Ruth suggested a commode. The problem is still I'd need the boot on (I don't need to wear it in bed) and would need to then get onto it and back up to the bed. Tomorrow, I am expecting the doctor's office to call to schedule an exam virtually. I may never know for sure. I do think degernation from non-use pretty much going on 4 years played a huge role in my feet issue. I think that the not wearing slippers for a week only set that all of which was already in motion. A truer root cause no idea, First priority now is to get out of daily pain and go from there! Hugs dear friend and to all sweet dreams.

With a bedside commode I wouldn’t bother with the boot. Use the walker to get out of bed. Stand and pivot onto the commode, then do the reverse in getting back to bed. Quick in and out/on and off. Keep most of your weight on the equipment, your unaffected foot, and the back of your affected foot. The boot is mainly for protection. You have to balance use of it with the importance of a good night’s rest and sleep (for both you and your Dad). Thirty minutes for a middle of the night seems excessive! If you’re really opposed to not wearing the boot to get up, then sleep with it on! Because six weeks of that will have you both run ragged!

I hope your pain is better now that you’re taking more ibuprofen and have answers. This will eventually pass. I never had a boot for my broken toes and I still had to work. I was on vacation when it happened but when I came home I was hobbling around. One of my toes still looks a little weird. At the time, both were very swollen and a scary deep purple! DD and I had taped them together for support, and I did have to use a wheelchair at Epcot, there was no way I could do all that walking there. The other day I saw someone walking World Showcase with a boot on and I couldn’t believe it. But we’re all different, I suppose.

@leebee has some great suggestions above. Thanks for chiming in, leebee! Many patients in the hospital sleep in recliners for various reasons. We bought a motorized one for my mom, too. It has heat and vibration as well as reclining and lift functions to help get up. (Not bad for $100 bucks on Craigslist and the chair was practically brand new. I guess they had bought it for a family member who didn’t like it!) One day she got stuck in the reclining position when something happened to the electric panel. That was fun trying to get her out! But DH uses the chair now. I yell at him when he uses the lift function - he reminds me too much of Carl Fredrikson then, lol.

I love the bidet idea, too. Alternatively, there are little, inexpensive “peri bottles” (aka “portable bidet” ) you can use that hold water for spraying/cleaning. We keep them in the hospital and if you can find them online, they’re probably pretty cheap. (Just looked on Amazon and they are! Mona you should definitely order one of these to make your life easier. https://www.amazon.com/Showvigor-Peri-Bottle-Postpartum-Pink/dp/B0BNKVGHJ8/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3FRAFD47M1CMH&keywords=peri+bottle&qid=1701965953&sprefix=Peri,aps,109&sr=8-5 )

It’s tough to not be able to shower. Lots of people have these issues.

Not sure about wide leg pajama bottoms. I have one pair I like that, believe it or not, I got a Walgreen’s. I don’t think thet’re a regular item, though. and they do have an elastic waistband. Maybe something like these?

https://www.amazon.com/LOCUBE-Drawstring-Elastic-Stretch-Bottoms/dp/B0B8RLPS9X/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3CZISHPYY8OPY&keywords=wide+leg+pajama+pants+for+women&qid=1701966501&sprefix=Wide+leg+p,aps,103&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

These are jazzy. (And kind of like the ones I have, lol.)

https://www.amazon.com/Arolina-Womens-Stretchy-Palazzo-Floral/dp/B075B3LR1K/ref=sxin_36_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.f5cf5c18-6336-410f-be66-27cd3afbd394:amzn1.sym.f5cf5c18-6336-410f-be66-27cd3afbd394&crid=3CZISHPYY8OPY&cv_ct_cx=wide+leg+palazzo+pants+for+women&keywords=wide+leg+palazzo+pants+for+women&pd_rd_i=B075B3LR1K&pd_rd_r=f83b4326-44c1-4d5e-88a9-19d43885721b&pd_rd_w=WN6OJ&pd_rd_wg=pIGiU&pf_rd_p=f5cf5c18-6336-410f-be66-27cd3afbd394&pf_rd_r=GQK0DE4JZN8DSFCD49RX&qid=1701966589&sbo=RZvfv//HxDF+O5021pAnSA==&sprefix=Wide+leg+p,aps,103&sr=1-2-558119f6-df47-420e-b6f9-0765cb4a145a-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&psc=1

Anyway, hope this helps. Feel better, Mona!

Enjoy this Thursday, everyone!

 

[PollyannaMom]

...If they did do what I read off then they had to stand and change seats with someone else standing. The gift stayed at the seat. When the game was over, you opened the gift that was sitting by your chair.

That's such a clever way to do a gift swap!

 

[Snowysmom]

@dazedx3 The holidays are not easy to navigate. I am finding this year to be the worst one since Chris passed mainly because I am very lonely and Chris and I would have been retiring at the end of the month. He was waiting to retire and counting the days even before he passed. If I think too much about it I just sit and cry. This year I have just a few decorations up but I did buy a wreath for the front door. I did the on a whim and bought it quickly before I could change my mind. I hope you can decorate in whatever way makes you comfortable. And you are right, grieving is hard and takes energy. But I also understand the need to stay busy so you don't think too much. I am sorry you have to do the snow blowing yourself. Kris is very much watching over you.

Lynn It sounds like you have quite a few decorations up. And you put the elliptical together yourself. I am impressed. You need to do what you want and makes you comfortable. Don is surely watching over you and is with you.

Mona It sounds like you are making a bit of progress. The medication is a big step forward. I do hope you can sleep better. For about 6 weeks after having my knee replacements I slept sitting up in my recliner as it worked better for me. Prayers and thoughts for better days ahead and good healing.

Work was busy today in the office and it is always nice to see people and talk. We do alot of talking as we only see each other once a week. I went to lunch afterwards with my wonderful friend who lives in the area. She is very insightful and knows I am having alot of trouble this year. She is also having a tough winter season for various reasons including missing her DH. She met Chris a few times and knew him from our talks about family. She is trying to help me think a bit differently about things in a very nonjudgmental, kind way. Hard to believe we have been friends for more than 21 years. We met when I went to work at the local library. Our boss told her that she was really going to like me. And he was right! I talked with my other great friend yesterday. We have been friends for over30 years and met when our kids took swimming lessons together. I am blessed to have them in my life. She knew Chris pretty well.

It is getting dark and colder out. I like the brighter days. It never got past 35 today. Have a good night.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Snowysmom just a ton! Leebee, Pea, and all of you, truly you my dear Quacker family are precious to me. Crazy day here on phone. Roundabout information regarding health care providers and plans. Not what I needed. Mercy of God, I think a sleeping recliner chair rental will be delivered today! Should any of you want to Google, it is Horton and Converse. Under rental lift chairs there are 3 choices. The one I will be receiving appparently very soon is the first one. Brown chair. Brandon, the representative, said this really ought to allow me to sleep. Prayers it does. More maybe later. Xo

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Dad and I by God's Love, were able to get this sleeping chair delivered today. We're renting it for a month. Incredible customer service. Dad will try it out in a bit. We both believe, it has to be more comfortable than the office chair I sat in last night. Pray please we both truly sleep tonight. Thank you

 

[PollyannaMom]

So glad to see you got a chair to help with your sleep, Mona!!

 

[SpaceMan5]

@dazedx3 @lynxstch @Snowysmom

Matthew 5:4

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thank you dear PollyannaMomI sure pray tonight is one of limited to no pain and sleep.

SpaceMan and prayers. Thank you for the scripture reminder.

 

[Snowysmom]

Mona So glad you got the chair delivered I hope it helps you rest.

Lynn I hope you had a good night's rest and maybe take some down time to recharge.

@dazedx3 Thinking of you.

@tazdev3225 Good to hear from you. You are certainly busy these days.

Good morning. It is around 26 now going into the 40s today, I need to go to Lowes to get gutter extensions before the rain comes Sunday. The inspector highly recommended them. I have one but need 2 more. There seems to always be something to do. I do need to stop doing retail therapy. I just bought a shirt on LL Bean for my Disney trip in May. I like elbow length sleeves on my tee shirts and they had one plus I had a $10 off coupon so I bought. MY therapist told me to do something nice for myself for my birthday so retail therapy it is!

Off to work. Have a good day.

 

[lynxstch]

Good morning. Going to be 60 degrees today and tomorrow, but rain tomorrow. Very unusual December weather this way. I slept better last night than the last 2 days at least. I got up early and dragged the heavy Wayfair box out to the front porch for Fed Ex to pick up around 8 am. I decided to return the other cabinet I had gotten. After fighting with the pantry one, I wasn't even going to attempt to try assembling the one with more pieces. And I don't want to have Luke spend hours putting it together for me when he does come down. I'll have other projects for him to help with when he comes down.
My sister in law had to go to Morgantown and they stayed overnight. She had an appointment for her knee yesterday. She needs a knee replacement and they told her it had to be as soon as possible. Then they tell her both of her knees are bad and need to be replaced. Yet they tell her scheduling is 6-9 months out, that makes no sense. How is that asap? She thought maybe it would be in Jan, but was going to try and put it off so they weren't driving that distance in bad weather. Sounds like she might not need to worry about it for awhile.
I'm taking the day off. I'm going to try and do the rest of my Christmas shopping, even though I'm not in the mood for it. I'm going to treat myself to lunch and bring home something for dinner. It's been one month since Don passed, and I need to do something to try and deal with it. I don't want to sit home crying all day, though I've been really good about it. I hear a Christmas song on the radio now and then that will find me with tears running down my cheeks for no reason, but other than that, I'm coping fairly well.

I have to share with my Quacker family. I'm sure all of you know Dan Murphy on these boards. He happened to see a post of mine on a thread about 'life transitions you've struggled with' and saw my post about being a recent widow. He sent me the kindest, sweetest private message yesterday. I replied and he sent a couple more. He genuinely seems like one of the nicest people on these boards. He also asked about Tina (and her husband Matt) and said he wondered also what happened to her. She just seemed to disappear into the blue.

Off to feed the cats and get my day going.

Mona, I'm glad you rented a chair. I hope it helped you get some sleep.

Have a good day everyone

 

[footballmouse]

Happy Friday!

Supposed to get up to the 50's this weekend. I sure hope so because my house is cold, I haven't turned on my heat yet and it's been in the 30's these past few weeks.

MY therapist told me to do something nice for myself for my birthday so retail therapy it is!

Great advice, glad you followed it!

were able to get this sleeping chair delivered today.

That looks like a very comfortable chair, I'm sure you'll get some sleep now . I slept on my couch that reclines for 2 weeks last month when I was coughing so bad. Recliners come in handy, that's for sure.

We have been friends for over30 years

That is great that you have friends like that. I have a couple of friends from early grade school that I'm still in touch with but we aren't that close any more. I wish we were. My closest friends now are some of my co-workers.

Mitchell was in a wreck last night on his motorcycle . Some lady pulled out of a side street and crossed over to the turn only lane and hit him. Damaged her car pretty good and his bike is in pretty bad shape. The bike slide across two lanes and landed under another car going the opposite direction. He's scraped up on his arm and leg. He said his wrist and side hurt today. He called me and I went to where he was. He was much calmer than I was, I wanted to beat the lady up because she clearly wasn't paying attention. He did start to get upset when Evan showed up to help with the bike, Evan has a trailer on the back of his truck. They were looking at all the damage and Mitchell was starting to get all worked up.

That was my exciting night. By the time I got home I didn't feel like doing my ironing so jeans this morning for work it is . I did get my dishes done and all the cat litter boxes cleaned out before he called me so that was a plus.

Forgot to watch Survivor last night that I recorded from Wednesday night . Not sure what the heck I was thinking! I did watch the British version of Ghosts, that show is so funny.

I work all weekend so cleaning my house and meal prepping for the weekend is on my to-do list for tonight. What an exciting Friday night I have lined up.

Have a great day & weekend!

 

[lynxstch]

@footballmouse Jen, I hope Mitchell's injuries don't turn out to be worse. That was a terrible thing to have happen.

 

[tazdev3225]

Good Morning

Another busy day for me - laundry, finish Christmas Shopping hopefully and then I need to take Ella for a back X-Ray. They are ruling out Scoliosis and praying she didn't inherit her father's back. He has arthritis, bulging discs and degenerative disc disease that started when he was about her age. I think she may have overdone it at her volleyball try-outs as she really wanted to make this team. Never a dull moment.

@footballmouse - Hope Mitchell is OK. I know how scary that can be as two of my brothers have been in accidents on their motorcycles. My one brother was in a really serious one and I had to rush my mom to the hospital as my dad was working and had the car. When we got there he was being prepped for surgery as he had a shattered ankle. Somebody made a left hand turn in front of him and he was thrown about 35-40 feet. Thankfully he had on military jump boots designed for parachute jumps so they absorbed some of the impact,. He always wore leather jackets and heavy jeans which saved him from the abrasions (the jacket was in shreds but he barely had a scratch). Other than the ankle thankfully he always bought the best helmet money could buy. He would be dead otherwise as there was a huge dent where his head slammed the ground. You would think with all of that he would give up motorcycles. Not my brother. As he lay on a hospital bed waiting to have surgery to reconstruct his ankle he looked at my mom, who at this point had calmed down a bit, and told her he had his next motorcycle picked out. I thought she was going to kill him. He was given a medical discharge from the Marines because of the accident as his ankle, while healed, had lost flexibility.

I will start some baking next week, but the big baking day will be the 23rd. Mikey is going to help and he has a new recipe for cookies that he made in school. They are called Pizacati? I had to google, and they are Italian Pinch Cookies. He is really excited to make them for me. He still talks about Chemical Engineering but I think he should go to Culinary Arts School. He has such a passion for what he has learned in school and is really quite talented.

@lynxstch - I have seen posts from Dan Murphy and am not surprised he reached out. He really does seem like a genuinely nice guy.

Not much else here today. Hope everyone has a good day.

 

[PollyannaMom]

I agree that Dan is a gem! His posts are so welcoming and caring.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Good morning! Brought a little souvenir home from Disney - Covid! People hacking and sneezing everywhere. So using my own advice and stocked up on everything I need to get the cement-guck out.

Lynn, Dan was a frequent drop-in poster on our breast cancer thread over the years (as were some others, including low-key/Jason), literally just to say hi and offer support and encouragement. I always respected that. I feel like very few are cognizant of the pain that some may be living through while merrily going about their daily lives. That’s not anything bad, necessarily, but it does elevate certain others who can be empathetic just because. And as we all know, living through something like the loss of a loved one or a diagnosis like cancer helps make us sensitive to others’ pain. So kudos to @Dan Murphy for always being there for others here on this board. And being there for our Lynn now.

Thinking of and praying for everyone who may be hurting. This can absolutely be a tough time of year.

@footballmouse, how awful about the motorcycle accident! There were some pictures that circulated around here several years back from a motorcycle accident in one of our city tunnels, and they were pretty horrifying to see. Very grateful to read that his injuries were minor. The bike can be replaced; Mitchell can not.

@flyingdumbo127 Love the chair, it looks a lot like ours! I hope you were able to get better sleep in it last night. How are your feet feeling?

I hope everyone has a Good Friday!