Saturday, April 28, 2012

coming up for air and checking in

So.... I tried to go to the  "Dashboard"  page to create this post, and there is a message:
"Your browser is no longer supported by Blogger. Some parts of Blogger will not work and you may experience problems.   If you are having problems, try Google Chrome."  The tool bar is half-visible and barely accessible.    Gah!
What's up with that???     Just when I learn my way around something, they have to come up with a new-fangled version to make me bonkers.
Should I "update" the dashboard?   Have any of you seen this message and 'updated'?   I'm afraid it will make things worse.   I don't trust Google Blogger very much, since so many of our old Chat Board members cannot even get signed in properly anymore for years.

Sara in FL - You did the right thing with your Mom.   She will be much safer and probably happier, in the long run.   (((Hugs)))

Fran - congratulations on the new grandbaby.  It definitely does not have a "newborn" look.   Here in the U.S. we still go with lbs. and oz. including baby weight.

I've been sequestered in my sewing room for the past weeks, trying to get some skirts made and some alterations to DH's pants.   I have to say that I love all the various presser feet that I have for my machine.  It makes sewing so much easier.
Read more »

Friday, April 27, 2012

update

Lots happening here.  Too tired to post most nights.
Mom has had a really hard time, poor dear.  After getting up 4 times to pee, and calling me to help, between Wed. night and Thurs. AM she got up at 6:30AM thinking she was going for a car ride.  Again she fell on her face, broke nose the 2nd time and has 2 black eyes (again).  Called 911, took her to ER again.  This time I told the hospice that this just couldn't go on!  I insisted that she be placed in long-term care from the ER.  By 3:00 afternoon yesterday there was an assigned bed for her in a place about 10 miles away.  Not the fancy, pretty place close to me, but safety is more important at this point.  Medicare/ hospice will be paying for 98% of this with her Social Security monthly check being given over.  After checking her in yesterday, I stayed about 1 hr. and came home.  DH and I were both worn out.
After a long morning of filling out paperwork, FAXing things, researching her bank acounts, etc. I went back to see her about 11:00AM.  Thought the place isn't fancy, they seem to be taking good care of her.  I had 3 people assist me in getting her into the clean clothes I brought. (shared room with 1 other person)  Then lunch was brought in.  We went outside in the courtyard to eat.  Nice trees, deck, lots of shade.  The food was good, baked fish, green beans, potatoes, and a desert.  At least as good as what I would cook at home.
Came back home after 2 hrs. and did more of her laundry, to return tomorrow.
Good news front-my brother's 3 days of blood work show no signs of leukemia.  I'm counting this a a miracle, as he was not given much hope.  He still has pneumonia and some infections, but much better.
Have not done much disaster planning here, hurricane season is still 1 month away, but am thankful that the 2 times I had to drive to ER I had a 3/4 full tank of gas.  The first time was at 5:15AM so really glad I had gas and didn't have to stop in the dark anywhere.  Fly-lady gets the credit as I remember her saying to fill up and go to car wash (or do it yourself) on Fridays.  Will have to stock up on bottled water, propane for the gas grill, etc. before June 1.
Getting late, more another time.
Sara in Fla.

disaster planning

One year ago today, the largest tornado outbreak in history was raking across Alabama and the rest of the south and eastern part of the US... 358 tornadoes in all. By this time, we had lost power here, trees were down south of us, and the F5 was heading this way. There are still people homeless and struggling to recover from this disaster. My family and I were very lucky to be located "between" the worst damage. My brother lost his power for 10 days, and his phone and internet were out for 30 days. DH and I only lost power for one week, and were lucky enough to have gas in the cars, charcoal to cook on, flashlights and batteries, and some (but not enough) propane to cook with. Our home is all-electric. This is not intended to bring you down, but just as a reminder that disasters can happen. Since these disasters, I try to keep the gas in the car at least half full, batteries recharged and ready to use, canned food in the pantry, etc. A little emergency planning now could make a huge difference later! Blessings! Laura in alabama

Thursday, April 26, 2012

our new grand-daughter

Introducing our first grandchild, Charlotte Rose.  She was born 9 days 'late' at 3.40 am on Tuesday 24th April to our second son Darren and his fiancee Felicity, who already has a 5 yr old girl and a 2 yr old boy.  Charlotte was 10 lb 9 oz (the "old" way of measuring babies still hangs on even though we've had kilos for donkey's years {4.8 kg} - not sure how different that is to the US weights - what does Canada use?)  Anyway as you can see from the photos taken about 14 hours later, she doesn't have that 'newborn' look much at all.  We enjoyed two afternoons of cuddles before we had to leave for the 400 km journey home.  Hopefully we'll see them all again in the next 2-3 weeks.

SARA:  How are your mum and your brother coming along?  I hope she had a good stay in respite while you were away.

JANE:  Thanks for the mention of a couple of different authors.  I'm planning to do a search for them on my Kindle sometime soon.  I've just read the "Hunger Games" trilogy and thought it was a good read, although the theme was quite confronting.

Off to spread the news a bit further LOL

Nana-Fran (whose DH chose "Grumpy" but may end up being called "Pot" if adopted grandson Harper has his way)