Well, things did pick up for me on the homecare front.   I did do vacuuming, laundry, dusting and some dishes. In addition to knitting, puzzles and showing her some Botanical Garden pictures on my laptop. 

Unfortunately, Mother went for her 7th intrathecal chemo dose and went downhill from there.  She was ok for the first day or two after.  Then she began to complain of being incredibly tired.  I figured since she wasn't really drinking or eating all that much that I would continue to encourage that, let her take it easy for a day regarding excercises.  Well, even increased fluids and a little more food did nothing for her.  On the weekends that I wasn't there she was running fevers and giving her poor daughter a heck of a time.  This happens with parents that want to ,at times, punish thier kids for "leaving" them.  Last Monday though, she didn't perk up for me and was definitely showing changes in behaviour, a cough that made the top of her head hurt and lethargy.  She did also have a low grade temp of 99.3.  I told Daughter to keep pushing fluids, and since she was going to see her GP in the am to get her ears flushed, ask about the cough and her urine being a bit mousy smelling.

She called me back later in the evening to say that her Mom wouldn't even try to sit up and when she used to bedside commode she didn't know what to do with the tissue she was given.  I told her to take her Mom into the ER for an eval.  She was admitted with a UTI and dehydration.  I'm not sure when she gets out. 

To make things more interesting, Ernie got a call yesterday with an offer for a PERMANENT job.  Not much pay or intellectually stimulating, but...it will have benefits such as insurance which we have NONE right now. 

What do I tell Daughter?  I want to ask her if, since she works pretty near me, she wants to bring her Mom here so I can be with her and still keep and eye on GrandPa.

Just wanted to send out some prayers and well wishes to those Xangans in the areas that were hit so badly by the rain, hail and tornadoes.  I know that some of you that actually read here may be in those areas.  I wish I could go and lend a hand and help dig things out.

Many many many hugs to you and yours.

Just a quick entry before I have to dash.

I started a homecare job this week.  It's for an elderly woman with the same sort of brain tumor that Senator Kennedy was just diagnosed with.  She's still gaining back some strength from being off her feet for a bit between a hospitalization and being in a Rehab center (no, she doesn't have a drinking or drug problem, lol)  But am I being simple minded when I say it's mind numbing?  Yesterday I brought a crossword puzzle book and ladies home journal with me.  I did do AM care on her and feed her but aside from encouraging some basic ROM excercises and pushing fluids there's little else I do.  And since there's no internet access for me, I wonder what else I could do.  I tried dusting but she told me to sit down, lol.

Anyone out there do homecare?  What is a suggested routine?  I'm used to 60+ people and doing meds, treatments and charting.  Should I just count my blessings that it's so easy? 

My playlist isn't playing my songs!  blah!

Had a 4-H meeting scheduled last night and not one of the kids showed up, they all showed up for the last meeting.  George was bummed to say the least.  He missed a Little League practice to make sure he was going to be able to show the kids how he knows how to shear a sheep.  He uses hand clippers and does a pretty dandy job.  He didn't say anything but he sat really close to me while we where watching a History Channel show about Tesla. 

Oh, well.

I recently received an email from my husband's Uncle, a retired Dr.  I found it to be very disturbing.  It was a link to a website with a video regarding a single instance of an individual from Ontario, Canada.

Here is the link:  http://www.freemarketcure.com/brainsurgery.php

If they "outlaw" privatized health care in this country, you are going to see more instances of people dying needlessly.  There are opportunities for "free" healthcare for kids and I'm pretty sure that some adults also qualify to have this option.  I'll have to more carefully research that for myself. 

If your children do not qualify for medical assistance, they are eligible for very reduced rates for full coverage under CHIP programs. 

http://www.chipcoverspakids.com/

There are some that although eligible for free or low cost insurance won't go for healthcare because of a lack of trust in the medical community, mental health issues or fill in the blank with an issue.

I don't want my right to choose a Doctor taken away from me.  I don't want to have to wait any longer than I already have to in order to get a gyn exam or a mammogram.  Nope.

Emma passed her physical requirements and they gave her some language tests, which she exceeded the minimum passing grade of 85 with a score of 114!! She is now a Private in the US Army! I'm pretty jazzed for her. But sad that she is leaving for Basic Training on July 22 . She got the job she wanted as Psychological Operations Specialist. The one Sargeant at the recruiters office kept shaking his head and saying "Jesus, Psych/Ops, I don't think you realize what a huge deal this is!"

We've got a few roadtrips to take as a family before she starts her hitch.

Randomness...

 Yuck, you can really see our well abused and used couch, lol.  Well, since the dogs sleep on it and the kids used to think that the arms of the sofa were great places to perch thier toasted and buttered items it looks less than primo.  STILL waiting until they are a bit older to get new stuff.  Grand Pa looks pretty sweet though.

I tried to take a picture of a lady bug on one of these branches.  It walked just out of focal point as I pressed the shutter.  I still like the picture though for it's colors and balance.  I love the detail and clarity that this new camera gives me.  Not as much as my old 35mm film camera, but it does eliminate the scanning or paying for a CD of pictures to be made.

This picture is pretty much the same as most pictures I take of George.  We had a discussion about how he thought it was a waste of money to have his Little League pictures taken because I could take them.  I told him that I wanted pictures that had his face in focus, no cereal boxes held up, no hands in front of his face or a racing blur because he is darting out of frame.  He gave me a eyeroll. 

I told him his face would freeze like that.  heh.

Here are a couple of pictures I took of this years lambs with my new camera.  It's a Canon and right now I can't remember the model, lol.  It's sweet though, 12 megapixels!  And it takes short movies with sound, so I can bombard people with short films with my very own style of narration.

I forget the name of these two lambs

    These two are Petey (L) with the black circle around his eye and Algebra (R), lol. 

I did a few things on my list, laundry, bread making, banking, photo editing, boiled some raw wool in an attempt to extract lanolin.

I got the smallest amount of lanolin, I was impressed with myself and spent the rest of the day showing anyone that came near the results, lol.  I guess the ass kickings I got worked!! 

I need a freaking vacation.  I want to take a long weekend and just go somewhere. 

Try out being normal for a few days. 

Not left feeling left out.

Work on myself.

And then bitch because I miss everyone.

I have work to do, but it's soooo much. (literally)

I'm feeling overwhelmed and frozen.

I need a vacation to dry out, to thaw out, to gain perspective.

I miss my Mom

I miss my siblings

I want to feel a part of things again.

Don't get me wrong, I'm fairly happy right now. 

Just overfuckingwhelmed with all the shit that needs doing and my compulsive procrastinating.

Someone kick me in the ass...