Monday's DT

Morning all!

Well, I came in this morning to a few nice surprises.

I had a few Christmas gifts waiting for me.

I was given an Angel of Friendship - it says " Angel of Friendship, for those who share the spirit of friendship". 2 scarfs, a pair of flannel pyjamas and one employee made me a batch of homemade cookies (which are almost all gone!)

I have to say, this was quite a nice surprise and not expected at all. It has really made my day. I love coming to work.

Something weird happened to me last night. While I was sleeping, I must have had an itch on my back and I stretched my left arm back to scratch it. Anyways, looks like I somehow managed to pull something because it woke me up in a hurry and now, my neck all the way up to my ear and my shoulder all the way down to my elbow is killing me. I can't move to quickly. I took a muscle relaxant and I'm hoping it works. One of two things will happen: it will work or it will put me to sleep.

Today I get news on my grandma. So far, there has been no progress with her. I believe they are checking her papers to see what her decision was in regards to life support. It may be a hard day for all. I really hope she made this decision on her own because I would dread being the one to have to make it for her.

I know how you feel, Ghys - I did the same thing, last night. Fortunately, my muscle spasm eased itself.

It is cold and rainy, here. This is our second winter storm, in less than a week and another one is due, tomorrow. There is speculation, that we MAY get snow for Christmas. If so, it will be the first time, since 1987. I hope not. All of our snowbirds forget how to drive, as soon as they hit the state line and the natives (like me) don't know how to drive in snow, in the first place!

The dogs have been outside, rolling in the wet grass and mud. They are confined to the Arizona room because, I'm mopping kitchen floor, today. I'm waiting, until tomorrow, to vacuum the furniture. I want the house to look good, Wednesday.

Ghys - what a nice suprise your co-workers gave you - I am sure they know how hard you work there and are showing their appreciation.

Well I have the sniffles and a cough - I WANT TO BE HEALTHY!

According to my MIL, Christmas is cancelled this year. Usually John's parent's come to our house on Christmas day. She says she isn't well enough and doesn't even want us to bring foood over. I understand that she is depressed because she isn't getting better and that she was told that she has to be on her new meds for 2 years, but that is no reason to not celebrate the holidays. To me that is the best reason to celebrate - to raise her spirits. John is very frustrated!

I am da boss this week at work (for my unit anyway). Not that it means much - I still have people over me making all the decisions, it just means I have more reports to write.

I hope everyone has a good day!

Ghyslaine, I'm so sorry about your grandmother. I had power of attorney for a member of my family, and there was no living will. It's difficult to know the right thing to do. I opted for full life support until she became brain dead. Then the family made the decision together that she should be removed from the ventilator. I am not sorry for my decision though, because she had recovered almost completely, and then had a heart attack from which she never recovered. I discussed these matters with the pastor, and that was helpful. I hope you don't have to make these decisions.

Well, you had a nice surprise at work, though, didn't you? Your staff is right. You are an angel of friendship. Our lives are richer because of you. I hope your arm feels better soon. You too, Cindy!

Adrienne, things are difficult for you now. I'll hope you can have a joyous Christmas with your husband, and perhaps cheer MIL up with a short visit. She must be very depressed.

aw, Ghyslaine, it just won't stop for your family. My heart reaches out to all of you. At least the presents brought back the smiles!

Ghys - I wonder if you pinched a nerve. I do that to myself somehow at least several times a year, and it's really painful. It usually takes several days to work itself out. If the muscle relaxants don't help, that's probably what it is.

Cindy, I wish it would freeze up here during the day! It's been raining and just gross and yucky, and it's one giant sticky oozey mushy mucky mud pile. If it would freeze during the day instead of just at night, I wouldn't have to deal with all that muck! But I hope your weather stays warm enough - the beauty just isn't worth the accidents.

Ady, I'm so sorry to hear such sad news. Are you guys considering going over there any way? It's a tough choice to make. But she's obviously depressed, and stopping to say "hi" despite her protestations might be a good thing. ??

...and you have the sniffles? This time, TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

Vikki - you too! Sorry about the money, but sounds like you need some time off. I sure hope it's just a cold!!! Got my fingers crossed....

We battled the grocery store this afternoon, too. It wasn't as bad as I'd thought, and we got everything we needed.

I'm really excited. We discovered this GREAT German butcher around here this past summer. In addition to the "regular" turkey at Thanksgiving, we bought a smoked Turkey that they'd just smoked the night before, and it was AWESOME. So...this Christmas, we're not really cooking. We orderd a smoked ham (and we've never done a Christmas ham before). We picked it up today, and it smells SO GOOD!

Merry almost Christmas, and I hope you all have a terrific rest of your day!!

Laurie

I woke up this morning and found out there had been a major fire at one of the other buildings in my apartment complex. It burned the roof about halfway across. Everyone in the building had to be evacuated. I guess there were about 10 firetrucks, but I slept through the whole thing! My roommate is mystified because he said it was extremely loud with all the sirens. I feel sorry for all those people who are without their homes now, especially at this time of year, but at least everyone was ok as far as I know.

I am moving next week to a new apartment where I will actually have my own washer and dryer. I'm excited about that because I could never find time to do it where I live now because the laundry room is only open until 10 and I work until 9 a lot. And of course others are always using it. I'm a little depressed because they don't allow pets at the new place, so I guess my kitty-less drought will continue for at least 9 more months. I just couldn't find a nice place that allowed pets and had reasonable rent too. A lot of places charged a monthly fee, in addition to a deposit and another non-refundable fee. Also a lot of places required declawing, which I'm not about to do. I guess I am going to have to get some fish for now!

The cookies are all gone..... ooops!

Jeanie, my mom was taken off of life support only after it was determined there was no brain activity at all so I do understand where you are coming from. We had all decided that if there was even a small glimpse of activity, she was staying on. Personally, I think I would have kept her around forever regardless. But that would have been selfish and purely for my own saisfaction. We were all handed a letter stating her wishes. The decision was hers. To this day, I still live through "What if" moments. That will never go away.

I don't know what is going on. it is now 6:50pm and I have not heard anything about my grandmother. The waiting to hear part is the longest. Especially when you are so far away.

Oh Ady....I do hope your sniffles and cough don't amount to anything other than just that. Get better quick!

Cindy, I think it was/is a muscle spasm. Although it has not gone away completely, it does not hurt as much tonight.

Laurie, I ended up with a pinched nerve 2 years ago. Oh my.....what pain! I had to go through physio. It lasted about 2 months. Turned out that during my pneumonia bout (yep...I get that every year) I had coughed so hard that I popped something in my neck. They explained it to me at the hospital. The gel in between my C5 disc (if that means anything to you guys---it meant nothing to me at the time) had slipped out and was pushing up against my nerve. Well, it was not a pleasant time in my life. I had to have my right arm in a sling because everytime I would move my head, the pain would shoot down my arm into my elbow. I'm always afraid of that happenening again. I remember crying in the emergency room because the pain was so bad.

Well......as I was typing this, the phone rang. It was news about my grandma. The doctor's give her a 20% survival chance and they also say that she will never be herself, even if she does survive. They are starting her on morphine tonight and are going to slowly cease administering medication. They are treating her for numerous things and she is not responding. She still has pneumonia. Her blood pressure has elevated and her fever won't break. I believe it is their way of basically telling us they have done all they could. And, in my heart, I know they have.

Thanks again for all your kindness. You guys are the best. You know what though????? I honestly don't know if I am going to know what to do with myself once my life becomes normal again! If it ever does...

Fireshoes...I just had to chuckle while I was typing your name and thinking of what you wrote. It reflects what just happened in your complex. Glad you guys are ok! And prayers going out to the homeless families, especially this time of yer. That's just awful.

Good luck with your move.

Ghys, I'm keeping your whole family and especially your Grandma in my prayers.

Laurie

Thanks Laurie!