I Am Officially 46 Now.

Yep, I am wallowing in my Old Ladyness, lala. This weekend was interesting, I went to my yoga class - I was the only one who showed up! But at the last minute someone from the Wednesday class came for a make-up class so it was actually the two of us. Her name is Susan and I hope to see her again, we spent about half an hour talking in the parking lot, it's funny how you meet people that you like, isn't it? After that David and I went grocery shopping, with the two of us going full steam during the week we no longer have time to run to the store to pick little items up - we do Guerilla Shopping in which we buy everything we can think of and more all at once. Sunday was my birthday of course, but the weather was also quite nice so we were all mowing the lawn which is growing like crazy. We went to Ruby Tuesday for lunch, then shopping and picked up a birthday cake and Jet Li movies. I LOVE birthday cake and I love Jet Li so it was a fun afternoon. I'm back to work this morning but for a half day, I've got to get my oil changed and hopefully my haircut today. I also heard from Adam on Saturday morning, he sounded a bit quiet which I initially attributed to Sadness over his recent breakup but it was actually Hungoverness from the night before in Tokyo where he was calling from. He's dating a little bit, but he said nothing serious for now, he's had enough of that. But he sounded very well and is looking foward I think to being reassigned in July. In the only other news I wrote to two more Hueckers since I had not heard from Huecker #1 that I wrote to - one of them is in Bunceton Missouri instead of Louisville Kentucky but I figure if our family can move around here - they probably moved around there.

One More Day

So,  I will be 46 tomorrow, how strange is that. I have days that I'm actually amazed I'm that old now - I have all sorts of wrinkles and stuff and now understand the attraction of stretchy pants. I'm old enough to be a grandmother despite the fact I've been assured by all offspring I have only Grandcats and Granddogs to look forward to. I don't  feel that old most days, but on the other hand maybe I do and just don't realize it. I've been thinking a lot about the direction of my life and what I want to do with it - should I get a bit more into religion or is that just fear talking? There is a Buddhist group here by the way, but do I have time for it? I'll probably do what I've done my whole life, just let things unfold and deal with whatever appears. Next year Jackson will be graduating and that will open a whole new chapter of my life. David's been emailing me pictures of houses in Missouri believe it or not - but I told him we can't base where we live on the Arkansas flyaway (major duck hunting), he seems to think he can. That's down the road a bit and we'll probably end up staying here - West Virginia has become home for me, I'm very comfortable. I was out driving the other day and it dawned on me that I really know this place. That I navigate around it easily now without even thinking about it, I know where pretty much everything is. The idea of moving again is just tiring, even if it'll be right down the road or the next town. My job this week is overwhelming - I know it's because I've had to do visits on top of my regular job plus the looming spector of a full time nurse leaving with no replacement - I've fallen asleep at 8 every night this week from sheer exhaustion . But next week will be better and I already have a few irons in the fire and I'm taking off half a day on Monday so I can get my haircut and make an appointment to have this "temporary crown" (which has been in over a month now!) replaced. I guess I'm too busy to be old.

Holy Crap Batman, It's Friday!

Wow, I think this is the longest I've ever gone (with the exception of the computer being in the shop) without blogging. It's been a very busy week at work - with most of the infusions falling on this week plus the regular patient load I've been out of the office most of the beginning of the week. I've spent the last couple of days playing catch up and Bad News - the full time nurse is quitting due to personal problems at home. Hmm. Sort of leaves me as a Captain without a Ship. Well, I still have the ship, just don't have the crew but it'll work out eventually. I'm heading out to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for another seminar, I'm driving and Sophie and Deb are riding shotgun - we'll carpool again for the 2nd half later in the year. Home has been busy busy busy with the usual plus Pearl. We once again didn't get a bill for our taxes (due the 30th) and once again narrowly escaped having our names in the paper in the List Of Deadbeats Who Don't Pay Thier Taxes. I've sort of gleaned that is a very bad thing because EVERYONE reads it and you'll have a whole year to have to live it down in. I've got yoga tomorrow which I'm looking foward to, I just wish I had more time to actually do it more than once a week. David's been working steady, he's enjoying it I think except for the travel time - and of course Jackson needing to be picked up after school. I do it as much as I can, but with my job it's not always possible. Speaking of Jackson, we got into a conversation today somehow of what he'll look like as an adult. I was rather surprised when he told me he was pretty sure he'd look like Grandpa Carter! I asked how he'd come to that conclusion and he said everyone always said he looked like my side of the family and then he asked if I'd every really looked at the pictures we have of Grandpa in his 20's. Jackson said Grandpa had been very good looking in those pictures  - he said he didn't know for sure that was what he would look like, but he sure hoped he would! I guess I was a little taken aback because I never thought he'd looked at any of family pictures, let alone recognized anyone. It's funny what kids notice, isn't it?

Holy Crap Batman - It's Monday

Monday started off very well - I went straight to my 4 hour infusion, knitting in hand and spent the morning pleasantly. I've taken care of this particular patient for awhile now so it's gotten to the point of getting together with friends. When I got back to the office EVERYTHING hit the fan - and I only had two hours to deal with it before  my next visit. Mondays have turned into a free for all lately - all the doctors want thier labs MONDAY, all the wound vacs - MONDAY, insurance companies want thier weekly report MONDAY and  I've been doing visits on Monday along with everyone else as of course all the patients want to be seen MONDAY. It was two hair raising hours of phone calls and occasional whining with a few things hanging in the air for tomorrow. We'll hopefully be discharging a few of our Monday people in the near future. Then we had the opens done on the weekend, opens for this week and I'm still farming stuff out. The wierd thing is I know it'll calm down as the week progresses on  but it's hard not to get all wrapped up in the strum and drama. I take Pearl out when I get home now that the weather is warm, I fling dinner in the oven and grab a book and we head for the field out front. Pearl gets to run like a loon after being in the house all day and I get to sit back and take a break before phase two starts. That would be dinner dishes laundry cats dog bills phonecalls yada yada yada. David and Jackson are upstairs now watching some Fight Federation in which overly large and scary men are busy being scary with each other. I think you win a belt buckle or something  - you may be brain damaged but you'll have a new belt buckle. What more could you want out of life.

Better Days, Busy Days

We called the garage first thing this morning, David was being bit RUDE as he feels someone should've said something before her car started sounding like a blender and she had to be on call. The garage said bring it in, so we did then off to the office to pick up the papework from yesterday. I scheduled my calls for later in the day (remember the yoga class at noon!!) and David started calling around about a rental after making another somewhat RUDE comment about how we wouldn't have to be renting a car if SOMEONE had said ....I personally felt we should put it behind us. Now. Then he called the garage and my car was done! They are so super nice because they know what I do for a living and they even got it done before the yoga class. So we went to pick it up and then after restocking my car, off I was to my first yoga class. I was going to skip it, but I just brought my cell phone and called the office to ask if they could hold anything non emergent which they did. Yoga is much harder than you think - it looks like people standing in various positions but it's really not. Because when you do this stuff you have to stretch and straighten, flex and hold. You have to stretch and hold it until all of your muscles have the consistancy of speghetti and you just keep doing this until you are all stretched out and stuff. There were 5 people in the group (it's a small studio) and it was more interesting that I thought it was going to be. At the end they have this quiet relaxation thing which I spent hoping all my tendons would be able to still work. After that I did my 3 visits - I tried to call one patient that I kept getting this woman who said she didn't know him. Then she asked why I wanted to talk to him, I told her I just needed to and she said well, I don't know him. I knew that I said and then she asked, well, do you have business with him? I said no, then she said what did you want to talk to him about and I said I thought you didn't know him - she said I don't! and hung up the phone. It turned out the patient had changed his phone number but I just found it hilarious there's someone that nosy in the world!

Friday Sucked. Thank You For Asking.

My day started off not great - the visit nurse called me at home to let me know she had to call in sick.  I mentally went over her day and mine, which at this point were one in the same and changed into a pair of scrubs since I'd be doing visits for at least half of the day. When I got to the office the first question was when I'd be back - I pointed out I would have to be gone before answering that question. I fielded one patient off to the other nurse and the 3 left were in town but that doesn't guarentee anything. All 3 had things to discuss - a lot of times it's just a new face that brings that on, but they were valid issues so I made a list and was back in the office at one. That would be when the shit really hit the fan - we had two patients stolen by competing agencies that needed stealing back - our nurse liason did a great job on that one! I had two new admits I needed to get auth for - they both had the wrong information, no phone numbers and there is a person named Fran at one insurance company that needs to stop sighing just because some people don't know the first name of the surgeon or her provider number for The Health Plan Of Ohio.Then she gave me the number that turned out to be a bunch of letters - who's sighing now! I'm on call this weekend and I got one admission. Then I got two and got them scheduled. Then I was given SIX visits which is a bit much. Especially since my car that's been making a funny noise intermittently is now making it all the time but it was ok because I only had one admission. Sigh sigh sigh. Susan farmed out the admits and then I got a callback from a patient - a simple thing to grander events. Bridgeport was supposed to fax over the info on the 6 visits and for some reason it wouldn't come through. At 5:15 Susan sent me home and said she'd make sure they were there in the morning as I was far beyond Done. When I got home poor Pearl had been in the house all day so I let her out and found my book to read outside. The very nice thing is the sun has finally decided to make a guest star appearance over West Virginia so we stayed out for quite awhile. I'm probably going to rent a car today and hopefully my garage can squeeze me in. And the other good thing is if I do the 6  visits this weekend I can take a day off next week!

Dueling Tractors

Well, with the warmer weather and rain the grass is getting lovely and green. And long. David came in after dinner and announced he wanted to show me how the little lawn tractor started. I pointed out I could see the tractor quite well from the couch if I hinkied up a bit and looked out the window. Apparently there was more to the situation as he thought not only could he show me how to start the lawn tractor but then since it was running I could perhaps use it. So Pearl in tow we went over the Clutch, Reverse and of course Stop. I spent the first part of my time shrieking MOVE PEARL as she was a bit confused  how I was going to throw the toy if I was on a John Deere and persisted in standing in front of it. Any of you who think she would eventually move when it got too close, well, you obviously don't know Pearl too well. Then there is the other problem which is not rolling the tractor. WV is not flat and our yard although flatter than most is on an incline. One of the common injuries around here in the warm weather is a fractured femur because that's what usually snaps when you go up the hill a little too far and your mower flips even though you did scoot all the way to one side. If your yard is really steep what you do is get a push mower and tie a rope to the handle. Then you stand at the top of the hill and pull and release the rope - I've seen it done and it works way better than you think it does. I got most of the side yard by the pool done - apparently the lady of the house will be surveying her estate from a different angle this year!