Saturday 9: The Christmas Song

Saturday 9: The Christmas Song (1961)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) The lyrics mention "chestnuts roasting on an open fire." Do you often eat chestnuts?

A. I haven't had any in a long time. I never see them in the store.

2) There's a reference to Jack Frost, too. Does cold weather help you get into the holiday spirit?

A. A little snow on the ground (not ice) helps, if it is the kind that covers the grass, is pretty long enough for a photo, and then goes away.

3) Nat sings that turkey helps to make the season bright. We just had it last month for Thanksgiving. Do you enjoy turkey all year around? Or do you consider it primarily a holiday dish?

A. We generally only eat it around the holidays.

4) This song was published as "The Christmas Song," but people often refer to it as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" or "Merry Christmas to You." When you think of this song, which title comes to mind?

A. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire

5) Nat King Cole had a big hit in the 1950s with "Mona Lisa." The ballad compares an enigmatic woman to the da Vinci painting, which hangs in the Louvre. The Mona Lisa has been called the most instantly identifiable painting in the world. Can you think of another famous painting that you recognize on sight? (Extra points if you include a picture!)

A. A Van Gogh is easily recognized. Most people know The Starry Night, but I have The Starry Night Over the Rhone hanging in my office. A copy, of course.

6) Best remembered today as a singer, Cole was also an accomplished composer and jazz pianist. Do you like jazz?

A. I don't listen to it often. I appreciate its influence over other forms of music.

7) The only Christmas card Sam has received so far this year is from her dentist. She never sees Dr. Douglas socially. In fact, she hasn't seen him since her annual check-up last March. Have you received many cards this year?

A. I think we have received maybe 10 so far. I sent out about 55. I used to send out over 100, but the list has grown smaller and smaller as we've aged.

8) When did/will you start holiday shopping this year: Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving/Black Friday, Halloween? Earlier than that?

A. I started a wee bit earlier than Thanksgiving, but not by much. We've had a lot going on.

9) This time of year is big for charitable fundraising. Here's your chance to plug a cause or organization that's near and dear to you.

A. I think people should give to local charities that they know do good things. We have something here called The Rescue Mission which houses many homeless folks on cold nights, and feeds them, too. I usually give to that. I also donate to larger organizations that do things like fight cancer, but I prefer donations to organizations that remain local.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.  (#315)

A Little Ice, Ice Baby

We woke this morning to ice, and while the forecast called for warmer temps and lessening rain, it has instead simply drizzled rainy icy water from the sky all day.

A gray day. An icy day.

A good day to stay inside.

This blue jay seemed perplexed by the icy trees.

The coating of ice has grown as the day as progressed.

My garden cart, which I flipped over the other day because it was full of water, has icicles hanging from its wheels.

Just a pretty branch, coated with ice.

The Cold Moon

This was the last full moon of the year. It became full on 12/12 at 12:12 a.m., making it an intriguing moon for those who believe there's a wee bit o' magic in the timing of certain things. I took these pictures as the moon began to rise on 12/11/2019, about six hours before it hit its totality of fullness. Not that you can tell that from a photo.

These shots are from two different cameras, both Nikons.

Thursday Thirteen

I was thinking the other day about things that I've used in my lifetime that kids today would have no knowledge of. I wondered if I could come up with 13.

1. A car antenna. Not the built-in kind, but the one that stuck up out of the car fender and danced along with the wind as you breezed along.

2. Eight track tape player. These were actually on their way out when I was growing up; I used cassettes. But cassettes are also obsolete now, for the most part.

3. VHS tapes and players. One of my first major purchases as a married woman was a VHS player. We paid $300 for a brand new one, and it had a wired remote with it. It was made of solid steel, too. It was heavy.

4. A rotary phone.  I kind of miss that phtt phtt sound the phones made when you dialed them.

5. A transistor radio. I have never seen a young person use a transistor radio. They were the big deal back in the day. They had antennas, too, that you could pull up and push back down. That in and of itself was a big deal.

6. A party line phone. This was where you had more than one household on the same line, and you could pick it up and hear other people talking.

7. Beta tapes. Beta tapes didn't last because the VHS tapes became the standard, but I remember beta tapes and players.

8. A slide rule.

9. A compass (the little thing that draws circles).

10. A ruler to measure things with. I think nowadays if you need a measurement, you use your phone.

11. A flip phone (my husband still uses his).

12. CB radio. These were used mostly by truckers but there was a time when a lot of folks had them in their cars, too. Breaker breaker 1-9, this is Buttercup calling. Anybody out there?

13. A telephone book. I still don't know how you find people these days if all they have is a cellphone. We are so connected and yet totally disconnected, it creates a feeling of non-reality. I used to be able to look up my neighbors in the phone book to call them if their cows were out. Now if I don't have their cell number, I have no way to get in touch. It's kind of weird, really.

Bonus: A telephone booth.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 634th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Visitors

We had a surprise visit from James' Aunt Nancy and her daughter, Ann, today. They live in North Carolina.

Aunt Nancy is the last of the siblings of James' dad. She moved to Georgia and lived there until a few years ago. Maybe the secret to longevity is getting away from home.

Aunt Nancy with my husband. See any resemblance?

Cousin Ann. I have always liked her though I don't know her well.

Photos taken with my iPhone, which doesn't work as good as it did before an update. Oh well.

Turkeys in the Rain

The Red Sexy Cast Pose

This is my husband in his new sexy cast.

Sunday Stealing

I am awfully sick. I went to bed last night at 7:30 p.m. and will be heading back there soon. If I don't make visits, that is why.

Sunday Stealing

1. What don’t you share?

A. My toothbrush.

2. What is a reason to celebrate?

A. A raise, an accomplishment, getting up another day.

3. Describe where you are now.

A. I'm in my office in front of my computer, answering these questions. The walls are off white in color, lots of books are visible, as are cameras and two guitars. Out the window I see a stand of oak trees and further away I can now see the "shed" where my husband hangs out, since we had to cut down the blue spruce.

4. What is a dream that seems impossible?

A. Sending a person out of the galaxy in my lifetime. I think it will happen eventually, but it is centuries away.

5. What is something you hope for?

A. I hope for better health.

6. What is a tradition that makes you feel at home?

A. Getting a hug.

7. Who are the people who make your life better?

A. My husband, my brother, my friends.

8. Name someone you’d like to meet.

A. That could be a long list, since it doesn't say living or dead. I shall go with living, and say Elizabeth Warren.

9. What is a silly thing you’d really like?

A. Tie dye t-shirts.

10. Name a book from your childhood.

A. Miss Osborne the Mop. It was one of my favorite books. It was a Scholastic book and it was about a mop that came to life and had all sorts of adventures with two children. It isn't available anymore except as used.

11. Name something you’re still not sure about.

A. How a tiny little brownie turns into 15 pounds.

12. What is the best dessert to share with friends?

A. Any of them, really. But cookies are good. Or fudge. Or brownies.

13. Name a story that captures your imagination.

A. Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy has proved interesting. Or at least the first book has. I haven't read the other two.

14. Name some memories beside a fireplace.

A. I don't really have any. We always had a fireplace when I was growing up but it was something that was a chore. It wasn't a place where you sat to make memories. It was heat.

15. How do you spend a rainy day?

A. Cleaning up the house and reading a book.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

Saturday 9: The Champion

Saturday 9: The Champion (2018)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) This song is about doing what it takes to win. What's the most recent competition you won? (Yes, online solitaire counts.)

A. I finished a jigsaw puzzle in Microsoft games.

2) The lyrics tell us to "go ahead and put your bets on me." Do you often play games of chance -- like the office football pool, or slot machines, or the lottery?

A. We play the lottery a few times a year. I wouldn't call it "often."

3) The video includes footage of young people competing in The Special Olympics. What's your favorite sport to watch? Is it the same sport you most enjoying playing?

A. I like to watch ice skating, but I don't skate.

4) This week's featured artist, Carrie Underwood, first came to America's attention when she won on American Idol. Prior to competing on that show, she'd never been on an airplane. How old were you when you took your first flight?

A. I was 29 years old.

5) Carrie loves horror and her favorite author is Stephen King. What book are you currently reading?

A. Overstory, by Richard Powers

6) Carrie's duet partner on "The Champion" is rapper Ludacris. In addition to making music, he acts and has appeared in one Sam's favorite shows, Law & Order: SVU. What's your favorite "cop show?"

A. I don't watch cop shows, unless you want to go way back to Cagney & Lacey and Hunter.

7) Ludacris is a distant cousin of comedian Richard Pryor. Have you studied your family's genealogy?

A. Yes, I have. According to my mother, on my father's side we're distantly related to Richard Nixon but I have not found that connection. I think she had bad intel.

8) Soccer was a big deal in 2018, the year this song was released. According to Google, "FIFA World Cup" was the news story that generated the most internet searches. What's the last thing you "googled?"

A. A coat I wanted to purchase for my husband for Christmas.

9) Random question: You're battling the flu. The doctor advises you to stay in bed a full five days. As you begin feeling better (around Day 3), do you continue to follow doctor's orders? Or do you get up and start moving before you're supposed to?

A. I'm married. Married women do not get to follow doctor's orders unless they are comatose. I would have been up the first day. In fact, I'm sick right now and probably should be in bed, and I've changed two beds, washed five loads of clothes, gone after the newspaper, helped my husband shower and dress, and carried out the trash.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Post-Op Report

Went with husband to his post-op check up today. My brother actually took him; I followed in my car. Husband did not believe he could ride in my vehicle (I thought otherwise). I have since informed him since that my Camry isn't good enough, we need a third car so my vehicle will be, in fact, my vehicle, since right now we have "his" truck and "our" car and I would like to have a car of my own.

I would like to have a Corolla instead of a Camry, I think. I know he couldn't (or wouldn't try to) fit in a Corolla and I wouldn't have to worry about constantly adjusting the seats and mirrors and finding chewing tobacco spills all over the seat.

But I digress.

At the doctor's office, we saw pictures of the screws and plates in his foot. After the bandages were removed, we realized that he had incisions in more places than we'd been told by the "helper" in the hospital. As I did not talk to the damn doctor (he will always be that in my mind), I am not surprised to find we didn't know this.

The damn doctor looked at his foot, said it was healing nicely, and then sent him off for an x-ray and to have a cast put in place.

Husband chose fire-engine red for his cast color.

Now it is a matter of keeping it elevated and continuing to be non-weight bearing. He is getting along well, really. He's not a demanding patient and now that he is up and around he is doing a few things for himself, like making his coffee

In other not-so-great news, I've developed a sore throat, bleeding sinuses, and an earache. I don't have a temperature and my doctor doesn't work on Friday afternoons.

I tried really hard not to catch something but it is next to impossible to go out of the house and not walk into germs. Plus we've had a lot more people in the house than normal - visitors and home health care folks. Who knows what they drag inside. I have been appalled at the perfume some of the home health care people have worn - one person came in reeking of some smelly-good stuff and I literally had to leave the room and then air out the house after she left.

I plan to complain about many things about Carilion and its drive-by surgery proceedings. This so-called "home health care" is a joke.

Letters are in the works, with cc to Nancy Agee (who is already familiar with me as a champion of those who experience crap at the hands of Carilion, though it's been a few years since my messed-up surgery there).

The community deserves better.

Thursday Thirteen

1. My husband is really not a bad patient. Now that he is feeling more like himself, off the medications and such, he is doing more for himself, too. He is back to fixing his coffee. I strongly suspect this is because I fix bad coffee as much as anything, but whatever.

2. I remember that fixing coffee was a requirement in one of my first jobs. After the first week, I was informed I need not fix coffee anymore.  I am not sure how I manage to mess up coffee, but I don't drink it so I wouldn't know a good cup if it splashed me in the face.

3. The last cup of coffee I drank was really good, and that evening I had a gallbladder attack that sent me to the ER.

4. Once I went to Buchanan to interview a fellow who was walking the length of the USA for some cause or the other. He insisted on buying me a cup of coffee while we did the interview at the local drugstore. I felt like I had to drink it.

5. Back in the early 2000s, I went through a spell where I attempted to drink coffee because a study said it was good for you. I think it lasted about three cups. I am simply not a coffee drinker.

6. Tea, however, is another story. I drink a cup of hot tea every morning. That is all I drink, though. The rest of the day I drink water.

7. There was a time when I sucked down sweet tea constantly, but those days are long gone. I would come home from school and have tea and crackers. It made me feel very British.

8. When I was a teenager, my soda of choice was Dr. Pepper. Later I switched to Coke. But I don't drink soda at all now and haven't for 20 years. Occasionally I will have a root beer but it has been months since I had one of those.

9. Acid reflux and ulcers will force you to change your diet, even if you don't want to. So will aging. Or maybe acid reflux comes with aging. Or maybe the American diet creates acid reflux. I'm not sure which.

10. My acid reflux pill of choice is Zantac, which has been removed from the market. I have enough here to last me about a year if I want to ignore the possibilities of cancer, which seem so minute in the stories I've read as to be worth the risk.

11. Even so, today I picked up a bottle of generic Pepcid. I haven't tried this drug to see if it helps but I am currently taking a prescription one (Protonix) and would like to step it down a bit if I can.

12. Coming off of an acid reflux prohibitor drug is difficult. It takes a lot of Gaviscon to do that.

13. And going all the way back to #1, I will say that my husband is not causing me acid reflux. His coffee might, but he's doing very well.

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 633rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

Just Another Day

The patient is doing well. He was up a lot yesterday, sitting and watching TV and listening to an audiobook. He is back in the bed more today, so he was probably up too much. However, this afternoon finds him at his own computer, looking at whatever he looks at.

He is now fetching some of his own items. Bottled water, diet Dr. Pepper, his cans of snuff that I am reluctant to give him in the first place. We are finding our new routine, which basically means that my day doesn't start until after 11 a.m., after I get him bathed and fed and all of that.

It is very tiring for him to have an unusable foot. Everything takes a little thought and more time. That goes for both of us.

He watched me carry out the trash yesterday. The bag had grown heavier than I thought (I try to keep them light), so I walked a few feet, felt the pain in my abdomen, stopped, set the bag down briefly, let the pain subside, picked up the bag, walked a few feet, etc., until I reached the outbuilding where the outside trash cans are.

Doable. A little slow, but I am managing. He didn't like it that it took me so long, that I was in the cold that long, that I had to do it at all, really. But it's better out there than stinking up the garage. And it's how I've learned to manage, after 6 years of dealing with my own tiring health issues. I think this has been enlightening for him, to watch me work through my days, getting the laundry done, the dishes cleaned up, still managing the household as best I can.

We have put up a small 3-foot tree that we bought at Walmart. It has no decorations because I can't lift the boxes to get to the decorations. At least it gives off a little holiday light.

My husband packs up boxes as full as he can, and puts things where he can reach them. So the Christmas things are heavy and up high. He is 6' 2" tall and I'm 5' 1' tall. I have a bad back and bad ab muscles, and can't lift much over 10 pounds or so. I could stand on a stool and unpack the boxes from on high, I guess, but I don't see the point. If I decide I simply must have decorations on this tiny little tree, it would be easier to go to the dollar store and buy something cheap to throw on there than to dig out the boxes.

Carilion Transgressions

I was going to write a blog post about my wait at Carilion, but too much time has passed. I think I will, though, leave a list of transgressions here so I can come back to it when I sit down to write a letter to somebody at that facility.

1. The pre-op people said to bring an overnight bag with you. They said it would be placed on the gurney, taken with my husband into surgery, and then it would be there with him when he was sent to his recovery room. But they don't do that anymore. I had to walk the entire length of the hospital, led there by a volunteer, so I could pick up the things he took with him, plus the clothing he had on. Just his shoes are heavy (size 13 feet). So I was stuck with all of this stuff that if the pre-op instructions had been accurate would have been left in the car. They have a disconnect between what actually happens and the instructions. This should be fixed.

2. The PT people need to see the patient prior to surgery to go over ways to maneuver and figure out the best assistance device before the surgery. He saw a PT immediately after who helped him figure out he needed a walker (not something we'd considered), and then for whatever reason Carilion Home Health sent a PT down on Monday to see him. He can't do PT now. That was a waste of money.

3. The occupational therapist needs to see the patient prior to surgery, too, and probably again immediately thereafter. The occupational therapist did the most good when she came to the house.

4. The damn doctor never came to the waiting room to tell me what he did to my husband. He never called or anything. I complained to the nurse after I got to my husband's room and she tracked down an assistant who'd helped with the surgery. I didn't want to talk to an assistant. I wanted to talk to the damn doctor. I still haven't talked to the damn doctor. The damn doctor did talk to my husband but he was just coming out from anesthesia and can't remember anything he said. Not helpful.

5. The valet parking people were rude. I accept some responsibility for this, as we'd given them the extra key fob to the car to park it. We asked for a handicapped spot and apparently those are all in front of the hospital. I didn't realize they were going to place it in a line until they could find a handicapped space for it in front of the hospital. After the volunteer gave me all of my husband's clothing and bags, etc., I decided I'd go put the stuff in the car rather than try to keep up with it. I assumed the car would be parked but it was in a line waiting to be parked when a space emptied out. When I asked where the car was, one of the men handed me the key fob and I went to the car. The key fob was acting funny, I could tell, but I had other things on my mind. I put my husband's clothing in the back seat and couldn't get the key fob to lock the doors. Since I had the other key fob in my pocketbook I thought one was messing up the other. I left the doors unlocked - if anyone wanted his big shoes they could have them - and handed the key fob back to the valet fellow. About an hour later one of the men called me and said my car wouldn't start and he accused me of switching key fobs when I went down before. I did not do that, of course. I went back down to the front of the hospital and found the man, who dared me to start the car with that key fob. I did, because I read the owner's manual to my car and I know that if you put the key fob against the electric start if the fob battery is dead, it will start the car anyway. He basically accused me of witchcraft even after I explained to him how to start a car with a dead key fob, which you would think someone who is working as a car valet would know. Certainly that can't be the first time a key fob for an electric start vehicle has gone dead. Anyway, the man parked my car then tore my paperwork off my key fob and threw at me, after again accusing me of switching key fobs on him (why would I even do that?). It was a dead battery and certainly nothing intentional on my part, good grief. The man was very rude. (It is also possible the damn doctor came out to the waiting room while I was dealing with the rude valet people, but even so, the woman at the waiting room desk had my cell number and knew where I was and he could have called.)

6. We called the hospital on Tuesday, November 26, about pain medication. Carilion called yesterday, December 2, to tell my husband he had pain medication ready at the Riverside pharmacy and we could come and pick it up. A week later. I know there was a holiday in there, but really? We told them to keep their drugs as he no longer needed them.

7. I had called my husband's doctor two weeks before his surgery and told the nurse I wanted help with bathing him while he was doped up on pain killers. We got a PT, RN visits every couple of days, and an OT. How was this helpful, really? What if I had been really, really disabled, like in a wheelchair or something myself? Is this how they deal with this kind of family concern? This makes no sense. The RN visits I am tolerating but he is not running a fever or exhibiting any signs of any problems whatsoever. His pain level is next to nothing. I've had a higher pain level than he has during most of this. Somebody was not listening.

Sunday Stealing: Fill It In

Sunday Stealing

1. Right now I'm more tired than an overweight oxen that pulled a plow all day.

2. Being overly inquisitive is my well-known quirk.

3. Are you listening to the sounds of the trees in the wind?

4. Clean first, then read a book!

5. That's why we can't get along.

6. Xena: Warrior Princess is one of my favorite tv shows ever!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to going to bed, tomorrow my plans include a visit from my aunt from Texas.

8. If I could go anywhere on a road trip, I'd go to the Grand Canyon.

9. Lack of empathy is something I don't understand.

10. Thanksgiving makes me think of that time my mother made a pumpkin pie and it didn't turn out well, so we called it pumpkin pudding.

11. Reading is the best way to relax!

12. It looks like Autumn was not a color palette filled with beauty, but more of a dry, dull palate of browns.

13. Nuts are one of my favorite healthy snacks.

14. The smell of cow manure makes me think of the farm.

15. When I am feeling lazy I tend to play video games.

16. When I look to the left, I see my guitars and cameras.

17. My office and the kitchen are the room(s) that have the best view in my home.

18. Very little these days was done dirt cheap!

19. Knowing civics and voting is a responsibility that all qualified citizens must share.

20. If you have any chocolate or good advice, feel free to share it with me.

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I encourage you to visit other participants in Sunday Stealing posts and leave a comment. Cheers to all us thieves who love memes, however we come by them.

A Long Week Update

Husband is doing well. He is rolling about the house on a knee scooter but still spending much time with his leg elevated. Until he has it in a cast - it's in a splint and a stretch wrap right now - he needs to be very careful.

Next Friday he goes back for his post-op visit, and hopefully to get a cast on his leg. He'll feel more comfortable if he bumps it if he has a cast on it, I think.

He is getting a daily shower. This is a bit arduous and hard on me but we are managing. His appetite is a little off but he told me today he was trying not to eat much since he is not moving around a lot. So I don't know if he's not hungry or having an impromptu diet.

As for me, I'm still taking too many steps and continue to have abdominal pain. I'm also fighting a serious bout of the blues.

Yesterday I noticed an issue with a tooth and last night I took a sip of water and the tooth said, "You shall not pass." Or maybe it said, "You will suffer me." One LotR quote or the other.

The morning brought pain with cold water and sweets especially. The sugar in my morning tea was no fun.

I wondered what home remedy I might try but nothing that came up seemed appealing (put garlic on it, was one suggestion). At 9 a.m. I called my dentist's office to leave a message, and they listed emergency numbers for each dentist. I thought, what the heck, maybe I can talk to Dr. Lavinder and she'll give me an idea as to whether I need Orajel or something or know if she can see me Monday.

So I called, but her mailbox was full. I figured that was that.

She called me back about 20 minutes later, saying she'd had a call from this number. I gave her my name, which she recognized, and explained what was going on with my tooth. She asked about antibiotics and which ones I could take, and then she said that with all the medicines I am on, she didn't really want to give me an antibiotic if I didn't need one and she'd rather take a look at me. Next thing I knew, she was telling me to be at her office at 4 p.m.

On a holiday weekend Saturday.

So I went, leaving my husband alone after he assured me he would be fine. Dr. Lavinder removed an old filling and put in a new one, along with some bonding, and she thought that would fix it. If not, I might need a root canal. A few days will tell.

She really went above and beyond the call of duty to fix me up. She said I wasn't someone who called with issues and she felt like since I'd called it must really be bothering me.

What a great dentist! She interrupted her time with her family to care for me. I am so fortunate that I have found a few health care professionals who really do care about their patients. I have no idea what the charge will be for an off-hour visit, but I am grateful that she cared enough to see me like that.

Otherwise, I'm awfully stressed but we're sort of settling into a new routine for now.

Our Thanksgiving was nonexistent (we each ate a half of a butternut squash, and that was it), although we had some leftovers my brother provided the next day for lunch.

Thank you, brother.

Last night I blew up a bowl of soup in the microwave. It was hearty beef vegetable soup and it went everywhere. The inside of the microwave looked like I'd exploded a dead thing. That was quite a mess. I have no idea where I went wrong.

This morning, I fixed Cornish game hens in a cooking bag and somehow or another they didn't cook completely. We ate some of the breast (that part was done) for lunch, and then I carried the remainder out to the forest and gave it a toss.

Something will eat it. Probably a coyote.

After I finished at the dentist, I brought home pizza. I'm thinking I may never cook again and we shall live on ham and cheese sandwiches and supermarket roasted chicken.

I am very tired. Can someone tell me why?

Saturday 9: Baby's in Black

Saturday 9: Baby's in Black (1964)
 
Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

From our archives.

1) Black is this week's signature color because Friday was "Black Friday," the day when retailers cut their prices and consumers flock to the stores. Did you score any "Black Friday" bargains?

A. I don't go to the stores but I do shop online during this time. According to J.C. Penny, I saved $264. That just tells me they're selling the stuff for too much money to begin with.

2) Feasting and football are also popular Thanksgiving weekend pastimes. Do your Thursday-Sunday plans include pigging out or watching a game?

A. Because of my husband's surgery and recovery, our plans have been nebulous.

3) At Thanksgiving dinners, Crazy Sam's homemade gravy is always a hit. (Probably because she's so generous with the cognac, which gives the gravy a nutty taste.) What was particularly delicious at your Thanksgiving table?

A.

4) Among the biggest the Black Friday advertisers are Target, Kohl's, Macy's and Best Buy. If you could have a $100 gift card to any one of those stores, which would you choose?

A. Best Buy.

5) This week's song, "Baby's in Black," is about a girl who wears black because she's in mourning. Do you find that the color you're wearing reflects your mood?

A. I wear a lot of blue. I don't know if that affects my mood or not.

6) The woman who inspired this song, Astrid Kirchherr, has been friends with Paul McCartney since he and his bandmates (John Lennon, George Harrison, Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best) met her in Hamburg back in 1960. Tell us what you believe are the components of a strong, lasting friendship.

A. Trust, loyalty, honesty.

7) In the early days of the Beatles, Paul McCartney and John Lennon began writing a play but abandoned it. Do you have a novel, painting, play, song or poem that you're going to finish "someday?"

A. Yes.

8) When he was 16, George Harrison dreamed of moving to Canada, Australia or Malta. In just a few years, he would visit all those places with Beatles and eventually decided there was no place like home and stayed in England (though he did also maintain a home in Hawaii). Have you ever thought about moving to another country? If so, where?

A. I wouldn't mind giving Norway or Finland a try.

9)  Random question: Finish this sentence -- If you want me to give you "yes" for an answer, the best time to approach me is  . . .

A. Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
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I encourage you to visit other participants in Saturday 9 posts and leave a comment. Because there are no rules, it is your choice. Saturday 9 players hate rules. We love memes, however.

Thursday Thirteen

1. Abnormalities

2. Accomplishers

3. Bedazzlements

4. Bibliomaniacs

5. Candlesnuffer

6. Categorically

7. Decaffeinated

8. Deforestation

9. Editorializes

10. Embarrassment

11. Fallibilities

12. Fictionalized

13. Gentlemanlike

Thirteen 13-letter words.

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here if you want to read other Thursday Thirteens and/or play along. I've been playing for a while and this is my 632nd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday. Or so sayth the Blogger counter, anyway.

What's Really Been Going On

This is a truth post.

What's really been going on is this:

My husband on Friday had an ankle fusion at Carilion Roanoke Memorial.

Left foot is his normal big foot; right foot is his Frankenfoot. He has a steel plate and screws in it.

He is off his pain meds and doing pretty well. He has a knee scooter and is moving about the house relatively easily now.

He is not in a cast yet. He will be non-weight bearing on his foot for 8 weeks. Yes, I said 8 weeks. That is a damn long time.

Last night we figured out how to get him in the shower. He smells better. And feels better. Showers can be wonderful things.

He is watching a lot of TV because he is not a reader. This would (and will) drive me crazy. I rarely have the TV on but now it is blaring away almost constantly.

And since this is my blog, and this my blog post, I am going to talk about how it feels to be me, a person with chronic pain issues and limited mobility, trying to deal with someone who is a foot taller than I am and who weighs more than I do and who is a stubborn-headed mule most of the time.

First off, none of this was easy on me. It has been hard watching my husband practically dragging his foot after him for a good 8 months because he was too damn stubborn to go to the doctor and have it taken care of. He would get up in the morning and his hands would flutter like the wings of a dying baby bird when he first put weight on his foot. He didn't think I saw but I did, of course.

Since March, I have nagged, bitched, pleaded, and cried to try to get him to go the doctor. He did not go until the end of September.

He scheduled this for the time when it suited him and he did not once think about when it suited me. I assure you, had he asked, I would have told him "now," back in the spring or summer, and not at the holidays. Not when I have to worry about snow and ice, and driving after dark (which I can't do well since I have a little cataract forming), and when it's cold you have to worry about coats and how the cows are going to be fed (we've found people to help, the cows will be fine). I would have suggested June or August or sometime like that, but he wanted to work because that is what he does. He works. That is who is he and all he knows and what he does.

So he has greatly inconvenienced me because it will be cold out, and I can't set him outside in the sunshine for a spell, nor decorate a Christmas tree because we have a hospital bed for him in the living room, or even cook a turkey because with my health issues I can't do that without some help. But none of that matters because at least he finally has had his surgery and hopefully in 12 weeks or so (may the goddess help me), he will be back on his feet and doing his man stuff.

It's just one holiday season. Of course, you never know, it could be my last holiday season. I could choke on a cashew in just a few minutes. Stranger things have happened. And I admit it, I am selfish and would have liked to have been consulted and had my needs taken into consideration.

But I wasn't and yes, I do resent that a little bit.

As for the last week, my pain levels has skyrocketed to highs I haven't seen in a couple of years, in part because Carilion sucks as a hospital. It's parking sucks and its set-up sucks and the way it does things sucks. As a healthcare facility, it sucks.

I had to walk and walk and I can't manage more than 7,500 steps without the pain in my abdomen acting up. For five days straight, I walked over 12,000 steps. By Monday, I was a total wreck. I could barely stand up straight. My back hurt, my stomach hurt, and my stress level was higher than a freed leaf blowing in a hurricane force wind.

We had asked for home health care because we knew I would have issues and need help, if only for an hour to get him sponged off and cleaned up. Carilion Home health care did not call though we were told they would. He came home Saturday and we still hadn't heard from them. On Sunday, an RN called and showed up to "sign us up," take his blood pressure, and leave. On Monday, a physical therapist came, looked him over, and then said, "There's nothing I can do for you. Your foot is in a splint and you're healing for an ankle fusion." Well duh. What was the point of that visit? To put more money on Carilion's pocket, that's all.

On Tuesday I called the Home Health people because they said to call if there was a certain issue, in particular no bowel movement, within three days. He hadn't had one since Friday, so I called. They were as helpful as a fart in a hail storm. I finally got that worked out and taken care of myself with some appropriate over-the-counter medication and a heating pad on his stomach.

Carilion Home Health Care never followed up.

He also on Tuesday called his doctor about his pain levels and his bowel issues, and to see how much Tylenol he could take because his pain medication was gone, and we've not heard a word from the doctor's office. Today is Wednesday and it's late afternoon as I write this.

By this time, I had of course sponge-bathed him several times and Tuesday night we'd gotten him in the shower and cleaned off. We did this without help or guidance or assistance, and I was shaking with pain when we were done, and up most of the night with it (though my husband doesn't know that).

This morning an occupational therapist came, and she was helpful. She offered pointers to help him bathe and take care of himself, taking some of the pressure off of me. Then she left, never to be seen again.

I despise Carilion with everything I have. I would rather take my last breath in my bedroom and die young than let a Carilion doctor cut on me. Or any doctor in Roanoke, for that matter. Let's face it. If you're an "A" doctor, you don't come to Roanoke to practice. You come to Roanoke because some great place like John Hopkins won't have you.

The only exception to that might be if you were born and raised here, like my own personal doctor (thankfully not affiliated with either of our two hospitals), or maybe you have family here or something. Otherwise, just on principal, a doctor practicing in Roanoke isn't an "A" list doctor, I don't care how many millions the Carilion CEO donates for cancer centers.

I will probably write more about this. Things happened during his surgery while I was in the waiting room that I would like to record.

But this is enough for now. Now you know. It ain't peaches and cream.