September 12, 2008

First, I'll let you see how much I've gotten done on Charmed Dreams. I'm very pleased with how this piece is coming along. This is my progress for yesterday and today. I finished the purple star, did all of the half-rhodes stitches in the large circle, and most of the cream x's in the smaller circles yesterday. I completed the last set of cream x's, did all the specialty stitches on the two smaller circles, as well as the cross stitching with Choco Latte today.

I want to apologize for the pictures of this project. Usually I can enhance a picture with my Kodak Easy Share program but I'm having difficulty getting these to look like the project does in person. I used a different option tonight to see if it made a difference. It did, but it still doesn't have that "in real life" look. I am going to try taking it outside to photograph so that you can see those large stars are dark purple (Dinky-Dyes' Native Plum) and the fabric is a mottled tan color. The cream specialty stitches are done in DMC Perle 812, but the x's are regular DMC 812 floss.

I had my dialysis treatment, spoke with the discharge coordinator, and was transferred to the care of Heritage Harbour Nursing home & Rehabilitation Center. I had to go home and re-pack my bags because I need street clothes for HHRC instead of the pajamas and boxer shorts I've been wearing all week at AAMC.

Kasey went bonkers the minute I came inside. She grabbed a toy, jumped on the couch and commenced to rolling on it...sorta like this, although it was a different toy. She would run up to my bedroom door to see what I was doing and then run back into the livingroom and pounce another toy. At one point she was pouncing her tiger, given to her by my friend Tiffany, and Chet was in the way. When something like this happens he looks at her haughtily as if to say, "She's a dog and therefore doesn't know any better. Kasey is just a big galoot, so I will forgive her." He seems to realize when she steps on him by accident and doesn't try to retaliate in any way.

Kasey followed me out to the truck every time I put another bag in it (I'm going to be here for at least 12 days, so I have plenty to wear and to keep me busy!). I usually don't cry when I have to go to the hospital, but I get teary when I have to tell Punky and Bug goodbye to be re-admitted. I hate leaving them!!

And I have to thank Debi M for jinxing me! She asked me on Monday night whether I'd talked to Chet before I left the hospital and I said, "No, just Kasey." Last night, Uncle Wes told me that Chet darted out the door and kept going when he called him back in. Wessy said he had to herd Bug back to the door with his feet because he would not go back in the house. Apparently my boy is extremely ticked off, because Wes told me this afternoon that Chet had done it a second time. Usually Chet only goes outside if a door is left open. As soon as you call him, he runs back inside. We think he's going outside so he can look to see where I am.

For that reason, I made a point to pet him while I was home and tell him that everything was okay. Just before I left, I kissed Kasey on her muzzle and told her to tell her kitty that everything will be okay and I'll be back on Sunday to see them. I hate that the two of them are having all this emotional upheaval with me not being there. That is the hardest thing for me to deal with in this whole ordeal. I don't care about me, but they don't understand what's going on and why their world isn't as it normally is.

This time HHRCis much better because I have a room of my own. No elderly roommate who can't sleep unless the television is turned up as loud as possible, or has to have the light on. Just me, myself, and I. A Kasey Kay will be added tomorrow night, hopefully. I know, I told her Sunday, but I'm hoping to suprise her tomorrow! I'll let you know how it goes, but my plan is to pick her up tomorrow and keep her overnight and all day Sunday.

After stopping at Wawa to purchase another half-gallon of Lemonade tea and a 10" Italian sub, I arrived around 7:40pm and was shown to my room. I brought my bags in on one of those carts that hotel bellboys use and spent a while unpacking and getting settled in. I walked to the nurse's station for something and saw a familiar face in the dining room. Miss Jane was at the book rack straightening it out. She's been here since the night of Christmas Eve, except for 10 days when she went home in April.

We talked for a long time, me sitting on the top of the game cabinet and her in her wheelchair. My technican came in to take my vitals and the hilarity ensued! First, he took my temperature and asked if I was cold. I said no and he showed me the readout. 95.5! I let him know my usual is around 97.3. He said he didn't trust that reading and took a second one in the same ear. This time it was 95.4! Next, he tried my left ear and got 96.7. Don't even ask me how that's possible, because I was sitting on a big buffet-type cabinet and there were no air vents blowing on me. I wasn't cold at the time; I told him that I was, in fact, prespiring. I laughed and said, "I think your thermometer is broken!" Miss Jane was laughing the whole time and said that "she's an alien sent down to torment us!" I couldn't stop laughing when the blood pressure cuff wouldn't work and my poor tech had to go get another one. To top it off, and to seemingly give some credence to Miss Jane's claim, he couldn't find my pulse!! He tried my right arm, but that's the arm that's had ten surgeries and the neuropathy is still affecting it. He switched to the left and couldn't find anything at first but then found a weak one. The whole time this is going on, Miss Jane and I are laughing uproariously and the alien jokes were flying back and forth.

I'm back in my room now with everything unpacked and in its place. My iHome radio, which also charges and can play my iPod, is on my nightstand. Currently, I'm listening to my classical playlist. Bach is on right now, but Haydn and Ponchelli are my favorites. I wasn't a fan of classical music until I started dialysis. I find it very soothing and relaxing. Also, having it play doesn't distract me when I'm reading or stitching. I don't like to hear voices when I'm trying to relax; that just doesn't work for me.

I feel so much better now that my blog is up to date. I will make every effort to keep it that way, but with the way things have been going lately, don't be suprised if I'm a day late here and there. I have a busy week coming up, suprisingly, but I will tell you all about it as it happens. Have a great weekend!