First shop for November

Dairy cost me $14.73  There is one tub of margarine missing from this photo

Produce/Juice cost $6.09

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celery was 88 cents a bunch, so I bought two. Last winter celery was up to $5 a pkg. Cauliflower was $1.88 and sweet potatoes were 88 cents a pound.

Proteins cost $13.76

I paid $38.97 for three boxes of Hallowe'en treats. I give out two chocolates each. If there are any left over at the end of the night, I will use these in the Advent calendars. I only use three pockets for candy treats.

Crackers were $1.88 a box. I bought  seven boxes for $13.16

 

 

 I will use some of these in Christmas gift baskets with some different samples of local cheese from the local Wilton Cheese Factory. Who doesn't like crackers with artisan cheese? I love consumable gifts.

Pantry items cost $11.46

Toilet paper for the downstairs bathroom cost me $3.99

 And 3 loaves of whole wheat bread, not shown, was $8.97 My total grocery bill, with Hallowe'en candy, and taxes was$121.52 My shopping did not go well for me today.

1. I should only have been charged $1.88 per loaf of bread, instead of $2.99 each
2. I packed my groceries into two boxes. As I was lifting one from the cart to the van, the bottom fell out of one and everything fell on the paved parking lot. A jar of tomato sauce smashed and some eggs were broken in one of the cartons. I scooped up the mess of groceries that were dripping in red sauce and threw them into the van. It was the first time I had to wash all my groceries before I could put them away.
3. I am missing one tub of margarine. If it is not still in the van, then it rolled underneath one of the cars in the parking lot. 

I cooked two eggs that were completely smashed and made a fried egg sandwich for lunch. I boiled three that were only cracked and made some egg salad for sandwiches. I washed and transferred the rest of the eggs into another egg carton. So I was able to save all the eggs.

My Sweetie mailed off a birthday card that I made for my Step-dad, and came back with my Freebies from SampleSource. 

Dove samples with shampoo, conditioner and hair treatment, a V8 energy drink, two Tetley tea bags, Motrin tablets, Emergen C, Persil liquid laundry detergent, Dog foo, two different cereal bars, and high value coupons not pictured. One was for a free 12 pack of Astro yoghurt.

Daybook: Hallowe'en 2016

Outside my window.....it is dark at 6:45. We have had more than a dozen children already. My outdoor light is on and I have a skull with flashing red lights sitting on a table across from our door.

I am thinking.....how unprepared I was this year for Hallowe'en. I did not bring up my decorations from the basement, and I didn't even buy my chocolate bars until today.

I am thankful for.....my son calling from Vancouver to see how we made out with today's doctor's appointment, which was for a full body CT scan. He had his peritoneal catheter put in on Friday in preparation for dialysis. However, the catheter was not put into the peritoneum correctly, so it will be redone a week from today.

From the kitchen.....I will be ready to do a second dishwasher load tonight. I have cleaned up after dinner, which was leftovers from the Special Meals we served yesterday at St. Andrew's Church. We served only 33 clients, so we had lots of leftover mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted chicken legs with backs attached (1/4 chicken), bread rolls and mixed veggies. I gratefully received enough food to divvy up and freeze for future meals.

I am wearing.....a long black witch's robe over my jeans and black shirt.

I am creating.....a bunch of homemade cards to give as gifts this Christmas. I also sent a birthday card off in the mail today for my Step father.. He is still in the Cobourg Hospital waiting for a bed in Fergus. My mom is already settled there. Unfortunately, they will not be sharing a room together in the Long-term care facility.
I have already completed four knit dishcloths last week, while sitting in doctors' waiting rooms. 

I am going.....to at least two more appointments this week.My Sweetie is going to the Heart Failure Clinic tomorrow, and I have an appointment on Wednesday. We are still waiting to hear about some more schedulings in the near future. There will be more.

I am hoping....to hear good results from all of these tests.

I am hearing......lots of excited squeals from children yelling Trick or Treat from door to door. There are lots of "Thank you"s and calls from parents "What do you say?" Everyone is in costume...parents and kids alike. Even the high school kids dress up. It is a lot of fun. I suddenly feel very guilty for not decorating like I usually do.

Around the house.....my Sweetie is asleep in front of the TV. The  cats are napping, and the dog is watching me from the other side of the French door in the dining room.

One of my favourite things....is the interaction of the kids with me at the door.

A few plans for the rest of the week......include finishing up the Advent calendars and the small stocking gifts for the adults, so I can start packaging them up for the mail to Vancouver. We are hoping to drive to my daughter's house at the end of November, to deliver those packages. I am also going out for a birthday lunch for one of the girls from our "Girls Weekend" this Saturday, and then to a Christmas Craft and potluck supper on Amherst Island. So I need to gather up some supplies and templates for the women to help me put together some things for the Craft Sale later in the month.

Here is a picture I am sharing.....my one and only decoration this year.

Daybook: Wednesday, October 26/16

Outside my window.....it is a cold sunny morning. There was frost on the car windows this morning.

I am thinking.....I need to make a few phone calls and write a few emails today.

I am thankful for.....caring medical staff and the prayers and well wishes of others.

From the kitchen.....there is not a lot going on since the weekend, but fortunately I got a lot of cooking and baking done ahead on Sunday afternoon.

I am wearing.....black dress pants with a purple polka dot jersey top and gray socks. It is what I wore yesterday for my Sweetie's all day doctors' appointments. I will shower and change into something else.

I am creating.....nothing right now. I need to clean up my crafting space and wash all of my Autumn, Thanksgiving, Hallowe'en stamps that I have been using over the last few weeks, and get them put away until I need them again next year.

I am not going.....to any doctor's appointments today. We have had appointments every day this week except today. But we will need to go out and buy dog food today, as we let ourselves run out.

I am hoping.....the rest of this week's appointments go well. 

I am hearing.....the dishwasher running in the kitchen, and the sound of traffic driving past the house. The dog and two cats are having a morning nap after breakfast. My Sweetie has gone over to a friend's house with his coffee, my son and his GF are gone to work, and it is only me here alone with my thoughts.

Around the house.....I have work crying out to me to get done. I have neglected the house the past two days because we haven't been home much during the day. I absolutely need to get into my bedroom to clear up some boxes, and to take the  AC unit out of the window. I hope to purge some items. On Saturday, we moved the trailer into the driveway to throw out some things that we are getting rid of. Hopefully, I can continue that momentum.

One of my favourite things.....is my newly organized craft room. It is working out very well for me.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include getting through the next few doctor's appointments with my Sweetie. Our Island team is scheduled to serve Special Meals this Sunday to the homeless.

Here is a picture I am sharing.....a card sent to my Sweetie by Nathalie and the kittens from Imperfectly Frugally. It arrived in yesterday's mail and was very well received at the end of a grueling day of medical appointments.

Friday Goals Update

Money spent this week:  On Monday, just before I left the hospital, my Sweetie asked me to buy him a Ginger Ale from the vending machine on his floor. I spent $2. On Tuesday, the day I brought my husband home from the hospital, I had to go over to Shopper's Drug Mart to pick up a few things. I spent what was left on my gift card and another $12.65 out of pocket. Wednesday was a no spend day. Thursday, my hubby spent $3.60 on 4 liters of milk and today, he spent another $2.70 on one loaf of bread (at the corner store). I have $19.24 remaining in the household budget.

Crafting: I made eleven cards. Four I have already sent off in the mail to Vancouver (without remembering to take a picture). Six of these are written out and addressed and ready for the mail. I made an extra one. I have also knit two dishcloths as gifts.

Outdoor projects: On Sunday, I brought in all the root vegetables (potatoes, beets and carrots) from the  garden and washed them for storing. I brought in all the green tomatoes, peppers  and one more harvest of burgundy beans. On Wednesday, ahead of the rain, I went out to mow the lawns. 

Maintenance and Preparedness:
 The green peppers are seeded and sliced into strips for the freezer. The beans are frozen. As the tomatoes ripen and turn red, I am washing, coring and placing them in quart freezer bags. I made another batch of my homemade brown gravy mix for the pantry. I crisp fried a package of bacon to put in the freezer for various recipes. I have cooked 2 crock pots of dried beans over the last two days....one black bean and one red kidney bean. I made a large pot of chicken veggie soup that has provided lunch all of this week. The dog has more dog biscuits. I made a double batch of chili con carne last night...one for dinner and one for the freezer.

Organizing and Purging: Nothing yet

October Goals: I have spent two days wrapping Advent calendar gifts for my four youngest grandchildren, with the thought in mind that if I still have time, I will also include my two older grandkids (poor University students) once again. I also had to make some packaging for some of the gifts. This is coming along well. I need scotch tape before I can continue wrapping.

Working in the Kitchen

Some days, like rainy October days, are just right for working in the kitchen. I didn't plan my day to start this way; but sometimes, the day just dictates to you what it is going to look like. My first thought, after unloading the dishwasher and making my pot of tea, was that I should really bake some dog biscuits since we have run out. I wanted to get the oven turned off by 11 AM, which is still our high peak rate until the end of this month. While those were baking, I decided to pull out a pound of bacon and crisp fry that for the freezer. I like to have some cooked bacon on hand to use in recipes that call for just a few slices. And I can't cook bacon without my Sweetie wanting some. He made himself a toasted tomato and bacon sandwich. There are two cups of dried black beans simmering in the crock pot with five cups of water. After supper tonight, I will rinse those and spoon into smaller freezer containers.

By 11 AM the bacon was done as was the oven where the dog biscuits were still drying out inside. I checked my green tomatoes. I washed the ones that are already ripened, removed the core and put some into a medium sized freezer bag. There are still a few for fresh eating. My peppers don't look like they will turn red, so I seeded and sliced them all up. I have a nearly full medium sized freezer bag, which you can see in the photo on top. I warmed up a bowl of my chicken vegetable soup for lunch.

Yesterday I made some more packaging and wrapped a few more gifts for the Advent calendars. I have run out of scotch tape, so the rest of the wrapping can wait. I got four Hallowe'en cards mailed out to the grandchildren in Vancouver, but I still need to make some more for the children here in Ontario. Two are grandchildren, but the others are nephews of mine. Since I knew the rain was coming today, I went out and mowed the front lawn and most of the backyard. I would love to trim the lawns and pull weeds from my garden beds, but I am running out of time and good weather. It may have to wait until Spring.

Back Home

I realized last night as I was drifting off to sleep that I probably did everyone a disservice by not writing yesterday. I hope you realize that if my husband had NOT been discharged, I would surely have been on here writing another rant. As it turned out, nothing more was accomplished than the night before, except that he had a quiet night in the hospital and I didn't have to go driving in the dark and rain to pick him up. He still has the CV catheter in his neck and there are no changes to his at-home medications. He took his last antibiotic in the morning, and he has an appointment in the Transplant Clinic on Monday. When I got him home, he went straight up to our room and went to bed. 

 

 To tell you the truth, I was lost. I wandered aimlessly around the house trying to find my way. The last twelve days, my days had been mapped out for me. Suddenly I needed to find my bearings again. There is a lot that needs doing, heaven knows, but I felt as though the floor had given way from beneath me. Anyways, I did my usual "make iced tea, unload the dishwasher and load it up, clean the downstairs litter box", and then I looked at my October Goals. The Advent Calendars stood out as the most important goal to start, so that is what I tackled.

On top you will see in the photo, some of the items I have already procured for one of my grandchildren. As you know, some things are easily wrapped, while others need some form of packaging. I always use the internet to find free printable box templates and print them on the backs of printed card stock like you see below. I cut them out, fold on the dotted lines, and use a strong adhesive tape to assemble them. You will notice that some of the packaging is very big (much too large to fit into a tiny pocket) You can find lots tiny things for teenagers, but it is harder for smaller children, so their Advent calendar gifts go into a bag. They can pull one gift from the bag every day until Christmas. The gifts for the older kids go into a printed photo box that they can use for storing things afterwards. Whether or not they put the gifts into their calendar pockets, I don't know.

Free printable templates

As each gift is wrapped, I write down what it is on a page under their name that I keep in a notebook. This also provides me of a history from past years of my ideas for gifts. I can keep count of the number of things I have got already and what I need to get to complete their calendar. I only give three candy gifts among the 24 wrapped gifts. So this is what I did yesterday. I also made a big pot of chicken and vegetable soup with broth from the freezer, onions, leftover peas from another night, and tomatoes, beans, and carrots from the garden. When my hubby came downstairs in the afternoon, he had a bowl of this....his first meal of the day. He wasn't served breakfast in the morning (because he had been discharged the night before) Can you believe it? I put a pot roast and home grown veggies in the crock pot for dinner last night. It tasted exceptionally good. 

Right now I have laundry to fold, and two casserole dishes soaking in the sink. I have already washed a dishwasher load since last night. The dog is going to need more biscuits soon, but I will get back to wrapping the kids' Advent gifts. Bye bye for now.

Not the Best Start to a Week

I drove to the Lakefront parking lot this morning by ten o'clock. I waited about 15 minutes for a space to open up for me,because they were all full up. I paid my $3 for 3 hours and went inside to visit with my Sweetie. I could tell he was still tired from his outing yesterday, but we started playing a game of cards before he wanted to lie down and take a nap. I started knitting a new dishcloth because I finished the first one yesterday.

After lunch, at one o'clock, I went down to feed the meter again. I put in $3 for 3 hours and placed it on the dashboard, when I saw this ticket under my windshield wiper. NOT happy. My parking stub said I was good until 1:22 My new parking stub said I was good until 4:22  How do I get a parking ticket for being 2 minutes to the good? I was livid.

Meanwhile, the cardiologist came in to examine my husband and talked about his candidacy for another assistive device for his heart. but the infection must be gone completely and the kidney needs to come back fully. They are talking 6 months from now, but they think he would be a good candidate for this procedure. Until then, he will have to go back to the heart failure clinic. His echo done last week showed a significant drop in performance (probably due to the infection).

Internal medicine came by with the great news that he was being discharged today, after the CVC  is removed from his neck. The kidney has responded so well, he no longer will be requiring dialysis. TheTransplant nurse called to say that someone was on their way down to remove the catheter and he would be getting his new prescriptions for medications from them. The nurse came in and announced that she just heard the great news that he was going home, so she was there to take his vitals one last time. We packed up everything in his two bags and sat back and waited. It was 3 o'clock. At four o'clock, I went down to the parking lot yet again to feed the meter for one more hour. After five o'clock, parking is free.

At five o'clock, we brought out the cards and played another game of Cribbage. At 5:30, his nurse came back in and told us that no one had signed discharge papers and she didn't think anyone would be coming.
It was getting dark and a lightening and thunder storm had started. I drove home in the worst storm I have ever driven in....rain so hard, the wipers couldn't keep the water off the windshield. The roads were flooded and the highway traffic could not go over 40 km per hour. I finally got home and called my Sweetie to let him know that I made it. I told him goodnight and call me in the morning when he learned what was going on.

At 8 o'clock tonight, after I started this blog, my Sweetie phoned to say they were discharging him. What???!!! The CVC is still in his neck. There were no prescriptions written. There is no follow-up treatment plan or appointment dates set up.  My husband is refusing to go. Someone will have to answer some questions first thing in the morning. He is still calling me in the morning to let me know what is going on.

The Final Harvest

Potatoes were grown in Tupperware bins

In the Spring, you might remember that I planted seed potatoes (2 or 3) in Rubbermaid bins that I had drilled holes in the bottom for drainage. As the plants grew, I threw more dirt on top. Today it was just a matter of lifting them up to the top of the elevated garden and dumping them, I spread the dirt around and gathered up the spuds. It worked out really well. Some of them grew quite large. I want to get more bins now for the Spring planting, as this experiment worked very well. All the dirt that was dumped out today will amend the garden soil, and I will buy another trailer load of garden soil next year for my potato bins.

The carrots that I dug out today

I never did replant my carrot seeds.  When my rows of carrots first started to appear, it was obvious that I had lots of soil that did not receive any seeds. My plan was to reseed those rows, but I never did. I am amazed at the amount that still managed to grow. I was very late in thinning them out, so it is a wonder that I got any carrots at all. I boiled some of our new potatoes and carrots for dinner tonight. I also boiled and peeled the beets that I managed to find. There were only five small ones. I had hoped to replant those seeds as well, but I am the only one who eats beets, so I didn't bother. I have already eaten two of them tonight and really enjoyed them. Next year, I will definitely plant more.

I picked another quart of Burgundy Beans on the 16th of October. I can't believe how prolific those veggies have been. I pulled out my two cucumber plants for the compost pile and found another cucumber on one of them. The green tomatoes I picked earlier on Friday afternoon, are already starting to ripen.

My Sweetie came home today. He was waiting for me at 10 AM, and as soon as he got home, he took the dog out and had coffee with a  friend. Most of the day he spent on the couch watching his new large screen TV or sleeping short cat naps, while I spent the day outside in the rain harvesting the garden, or in the kitchen washing the veggies. I didn't get to spend much time with my Sweetie today, but tomorrow I am sure we will see more of each other back in the hospital. Hope your weekend was either productive or relaxing......just the way you like it.

Cribbage

My Sweetie did not get dialysis today because his blood test came back with good numbers. YAY!!!
So I went in for 10 o'clock this morning and stayed until 4 PM. It is Homecoming Weekend at Queens University. If there was going to be a problem finding parking, I wanted to be there early enough to get a spot on the Lakefront.

I took in the cribbage board and a deck of cards because I noticed yesterday that my husband is sitting up more and is awake for longer periods of time. We had one game where I beat him soundly (maybe I just barely won). He slept afterwards while I did some knitting. I started another dishcloth yesterday while they took him away for an ultrasound. He woke up in time for lunch and then we played another card game. He very nearly skunked me in the next two games. I left the game there with him in case he finds another card player, or if he wants to play solitaire. He still has his crossword puzzles and his DVD player.

Tomorrow, if they don't change their minds, he is being given a day pass. He is coming home between 10 AM and 6 PM. He is very excited about that.

Thursday morning we had a hard frost (read: we had to scrape it off the car windows). So yesterday before dinner, I went out and picked every tomato still left on the plants. I have them on a table in the front window of the living room where I hope they will ripen. I also picked all the peppers still left. They are still green and I don't think they will turn red. But if they don't, I will still slice them up and freeze them. Tomorrow, I hope to dig up what is left of the carrots, beets,  and potatoes. The reason I had time before dinner to go to the garden, is because my dear friends from Charleston Lake came to visit my Sweetie and I in the hospital and brought a quiche with them for me to warm up for my dinner at home. How wonderful.

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend and enjoying the Autumn weather. I know my oldest son and his family are right now having some wicked weather in BC. We will try to phone them tomorrow to see if they still have power or phone lines. The news reports show a lot of downed trees and lots of people without power. Trusting that the family is all fine.

Everything you wanted to know about dialysis

I lied to you yesterday. The picc line for drawing blood was not put in yesterday. It was supposed to be inserted today, but plans were changed again. They have stopped the intravenous antibiotic and are now giving the antibiotic in pill form. He is scheduled for another round of hemo dialysis tomorrow.

The head of the Transplant unit paid a visit this afternoon. He is still very optimistic about the kidney's viability. They have stopped giving my Sweetie any form of aspirin in the chance they may perform a kidney biopsy on Tuesday. They took another ultrasound of the kidney this morning. They are bringing in the cardiology department for a consult. More news to follow.

My older son called last night to inform us that his nephrologist is going to insert a catheter into my son's  abdomen by Christmas in preparation for peritoneal dialysis. This is done by putting solution into the peritoneum and then draining out the waste while he sleeps at night. The flowing in of solution and draining out again is controlled by a computer at his bedside. This is how my husband started his dialysis many years ago. In the meantime, my middle son (the one who lives here) is preparing to go through all the testing to see if he would make a good donor. It is a long process. I went to Ottawa many times over the course of a year before my Sweetie's transplant was done. Keeping our fingers crossed that he can be a donor and that the screening process doesn't take as long. Science has come a very long way in only a generation.  By doing peritoneal dialysis every night at home, my son can still work every day and lead an almost normal life.

One week in the hospital

The day started out rainy, but has cleared up beautifully into a warm sunny Autumn day. I did not go into the hospital today. My Sweetie phoned this morning to tell me that they were going to take him to dialysis at 12:30 I couldn't stand the thought of another day like yesterday, so I stayed home this morning and slept. I was so tired. I need to be able to take care of him when he eventually gets home. I should have turned off the phone and gone back to bed, but I was afraid of missing a call from the hospital. I was so-o-o tired, I was able to fall back to sleep after each phone call I answered.
 
So this afternoon I ...

washed two loads of laundry, hung some scatter mats on the line, and will dry the second load in the dryer after 7 o'clock.

made a pitcher of iced tea 

folded  one load of laundry from yesterday, and put away.

washed some baking pans in the sink (my son and his GF made me some baked eggs with spinach and tomato which I have been nuking with some sliced ham for quick and hearty breakfasts)

washed the dog's dishes

scrubbed the toilets and sinks in the downstairs bathroom and my Master bathroom

After I have talked to my Sweetie on the phone, I will vacuum the carpeted staircase, the living room, dining room and kitchen.  It is driving me bananas with all the dust bunnies. Of course, there are things I try to do everyday like loading and unloading the dishwasher and cleaning the downstairs kitty litter.

Goals Update:

Money spent so far from my household budget is $261.81  Since last Wednesday's shop at the Bulk Barn and Giant Tiger, I spent another $50 on the gift card from Shopper's Drug Mart and $20.63 at the hospital coffee shop. After having spent $43.00 in parking fees over three days last week, I was able to find free parking on the Queen's campus over Sunday and holiday Monday. This week I have been paying the parking meters down on the Lakefront. It is only $1 for each hour to a limit of 3 hours at a time. So it means taking a long walk down to the parking lot, but so much better than paying those exorbitant hospital rates.  I am taking those parking fees from our gas and vehicles budget.

Outdoors work: I harvested more beans and tomatoes for the freezer.

Maintenance and preparedness: I peeled the ten pounds of carrots I bought on the first of the month, and froze several packets of julienned carrots and coins. I baked another batch of dog biscuits one morning before I went to hospital.

Cleaning projects: the two washrooms, today. It was not a deep clean. I did not wash the bathtub or shower surround, nor did I vacuum the floors.  I scrubbed the kitchen counters, the stove top  and the inside of the microwave.

Organization and purging: Nothing

Crafting: Nothing

My October Goals:  Nothing worked on and nothing accomplished yet, but the month is still young.

My son and his GF have tidied up my living room and made neat piles of my papers. They have baked me some egg omelets because I enjoy them, and they have brought me tea and baked goodies to the hospital for me to have. If I have a load of my laundry in the washing machine, they will throw it in the dryer for me. They washed and changed out my bed sheets on the weekend because they know I love to change them weekly.

Freebies received this week in the mail

Tylenol night time tablets and a quinoa cranberry granola bar

My Sweetie phoned at 6:10. He finally got back. They didn't take any weight off him. They just cleaned the blood and returned all the fluid back into his body. He says he feels good. They also put a central picc line into him so the nurses don't have to keep his IV catheter going. He had four IVs in the past week...all of them eventually failed. They need them to give him antibiotics and to take blood two or three times a day. Overall, today was a good day for both of us. Have a great night. 

Time for myself

So the plan was this. My Sweetie would have dialysis first thing this morning, and I would stay home and have some time for myself to get a few things accomplished. But I got a phone call from my husband early this morning to tell me that he wasn't scheduled for dialysis until 12:45. So we had a change of plan. I called two people that I knew were planning to see him this afternoon and told them not to bother going because he wouldn't be there in the room until after supper. I then decided that I should leave the house as soon as possible so I could spend a couple of hours with him this morning. Secretly, I wished they hadn't changed the dialysis because I can get more done in the morning. But I arrived at the hospital a little before 10 o'clock and put enough time on the meter so I could stay until they rolled his stretcher down to the Renal Dept.

As soon as I arrived, they took him away for an echo cardiogram. And as soon as the porter took him away, the nurses came back to the room to announce that the test had been canceled. Huh? So everyone figured he would be wheeled right back. I spent the next two hours reading my emails and blogs, and playing solitaire on my Blackberry. I went down to the parking lot on the lake front (which is quite a little jaunt) and put another hour in the meter. I wanted to be able to send him off with a goodbye at least. He finally came back just as lunch arrived. They did give him the echo cardiogram, but he also was told there would be NO dialysis today. His body was too dry and they were going to put him on another IV drip. So down to the parking lot I went again. I put on three hours, to take me until 4 PM. My doctor would be proud of me. She wants me to get walking, and I have been doing nothing but, for a week now. So in the end, I got no time for myself today. I got nothing accomplished again. I grab a few minutes here and there to fill the dishwasher, empty the dishwasher, throw some clothes in the washer or the dryer, fold some clothes, make myself a hot meal. I guess that is all I can expect right now. I will just keep calm and things will get done eventually.

I see some improvement

My Sweetie had a procedure done today which is in preparation for dialysis. The fistula in his arm has grown over, now that he has not had dialysis for over seven years, so they had to insert a central venous catheter into his neck. The kidney is still not working. His potassium levels and creatin levels are extremely high. The transplant team still thinks his (my) kidney is still viable, so we are hoping this will be only be required for the short term. We are both okay with this. Remarkably, he is much more responsive today. He was alert and he wasn't sleeping all day. They have moved him to another wing of the hospital where I expect he will stay another week or two. I don't even feel the need to go in tomorrow until he is moved back into his room around noon. Dialysis generally takes about four hours, three times a week. He will either sleep or watch some television, so I will probably stay home in the morning to try and get some work done.

The infection in his lungs is well on its way to improvement. I didn't hear any cough today and his breathing is so much better. Tonight I felt very tired on my way home from Kingston. I think it is a rush of relief after such a long period of stress and worry. I should sleep very well tonight.

Thanksgiving Day

This is another post of my husband's hospitalization. Today was the worst day (hopefully) for my husband and myself.  The antibiotic that he was taking for his lung infection caused an allergic reaction called insterstitial nephritis. His kidney has shut down, but has not failed yet.  It is usually short-term. Once they stop the offending drug, the kidney should start working again. His potassium levels are high, which can lead to his heart stopping. They are giving him a drug for that twice a day, which will bind the potassium in his system and excrete it from the body. He is back on Oxygen. He will be on 3 different antibiotics through his IV for a week at least. He is extremely weak and wants nothing more than to sleep right now. The nephrology doctors are prepared to put him on dialysis if they need to, but they are hoping his kidneys will begin to work very soon. My hope is renewed. Tomorrow will be telling.

Needless to say, I did not go to Charleston Lake to have Thanksgiving dinner again today. I stayed with my Sweetie and watched him sleep. I didn't want to be anywhere else but by his side. My lovely friend had Thanksgiving dinner delivered to us (myself, my son and his GF) by her son and new DIL as they headed back to Toronto tonight. What a wonderful surprise, and very gratefully received. So I had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal today. I hope my Canadian friends and family enjoyed their Thanksgiving and that all of you had a very lovely weekend.

Hospital update

As it turned out, I did not go to my brother's house in Smith Falls today. I stayed home this morning to do up some things around the house that needed doing, and I was on the phone half the time. My Sweetie was not feeling well today. He is hardly eating or drinking anything. He was so dehydrated that his blood pressure was only 99 over 63. He still is not voiding, and his bladder is empty. His IV stopped working and they were having trouble finding a vein to insert a new IV catheter. His nurse requested that Nephrology send someone to see him because of all the problems.  By the time I arrived, the nurse  had started the IV for a new course of antibiotics, but she had missed the vein, and the fluid was going in under the skin. His arm was blowing up like a balloon. He had called for assistance, but no one had come yet. So I ran down to the end of the hall to inquire about his nurse and was told she had gone to lunch. They had to find someone to remove the IV catheter and then try to find a vein again. We had to wait for his nurse to come back to start the IV all over again.

In the meantime, a nephrologist finally came to see my husband, and I am afraid I was none too kind. In fact I was stinking mad. The Transplant Team is supposed to be his primary care doctors. And I realize that he was admitted under Internal Medicine, but they knew he was in the hospital Emergency since Thursday morning. You think they might have dropped in to reassure him? His regular appointment is on October 17th, and my husband and I had already decided that we were going to ask them to transfer his file to Ottawa. We have been so disillusioned with the amount of care he has received here in Kingston. They were going to set up the colonoscopy, but didn't. Our family doctor arranged that. They were going to set up a referral for the dermatologist, but didn't. Because of the anti rejection drugs, he is prone to cancers, and he had four skin cancers removed a year ago. They were going to give him iron injections, but didn't. He has reported not being well for a year now, but they have done little in investigating any causes. Well, I warned this doctor I was too upset to ask any questions or voice any concerns, but she wanted to know.  And I proceeded to tell her. Poor woman. I will still bring this up on the 17th of the month, but for a while I was livid. And I am bone tired and just very emotional.

My Sweetie was able to give a tablespoon of urine to be analyzed, by the time I left tonight. We won't have results until tomorrow. But it sounds like the infection is only in the urinary tract...which is great news. He is very weak and did not get out of bed at all. He sleeps a lot, which is a good thing. I am hoping tomorrow brings better news. 

Saturday update

Well things can change quickly. Yesterday I was finally willing to accept the fact that perhaps my Sweetie didn't have any lung infection. The doctors were telling us that they couldn't hear any crackle in his chest. They couldn't find any evidence of bacterial infection after taking several vials of blood and trying to grow a culture. There was still fluid in his chest so it was the result of a failing heart not able to rid the body of excess fluid.

When I went in today around noon, the catheter was out. My Sweetie announced to me that he had not one, but two infections. One in his lungs and another in his kidney. The nurse was setting up the IV pole with two IV antibiotics, one right after the other. By the time I left at 4 o'clock, he had not voided (and he is on his regular dosage of diuretics) He should have gone 8 or 9 times in that 5 hour span. He had been sitting in his comfy chair instead of in bed during lunch and during the IVs. Before I left I helped him into bed. He overdid it, because he was not feeling well. The nurse was going to bring in a portable ultra sound to scan his bladder.

When he phoned me tonight, he had finally gone a little. The nurse is concerned, but a relief to me is the fact that the infection may not be in his transplanted kidney, but the bladder and urinary tract. They will probably be putting the catheter back on, and hopefully they will also put in a saline IV to flush him out. I will be phoning tomorrow morning. If he is not improved, I will not be going to Smith Falls.

Frenzied Friday

Here is just a short update to my day, By the time I wrote my blog post this morning and then resent it to people on my mailing list, because only the photo was sent without the posting itself, it was already 10 o'clock and I hadn't packed a bag for my Sweetie yet. I stopped at Shopper's on the way into town to pick up a few toiletries and a new crossword book.

When I finally arrived just before 12 noon, he was not on any oxygen. But that changed within minutes. A nurse followed me in to measure his saturation and it was only at 90, so he went back on the oxygen but at a much reduced volume. They came to pick him up for a cat scan and then later at 2 PM, they took him for an ultrasound of his kidney. He had an ultrasound of his lungs yesterday. A lung specialist saw him tonight and wants to put him on yet another antibiotic. They are still trying to take off more fluid because they believe it is in his lungs still. They want to take another echo cardiogram of his heart and he will very likely have to go to the "heart failure clinic" where they will be monitoring him far more often over the course of a year than only seeing his cardiologist. They have to get the fluid under control. But they are making good  progress. My Sweetie says he is in no hurry to leave the hospital. As long as he remains in hospital and his condition does not worsen, I will go to both those Thanksgiving dinners on my own. If I must eat copious amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie, then I will do what must get done. *laugh*  I brought him the DVD player and his huge collection of Clint Eastwood movies that he received last Christmas. Between the crosswords and the DVDs, he will be well entertained over the Thanksgiving weekend. I will also be spending time with him tomorrow.

Today I spent $50 on a Shopper's gift card from which I bought the crossword puzzles and the toiletries for my husband. The rest of the gift card will be used to buy bread and milk and such for the rest of the month. I also spent $13.75 cash for underground parking. I had hoped to write a special blog post today (on Friday) to summarize my weekly goals and money spent this week. I am afraid that will have to wait until my husband is safely home. It  is already 10 PM, and I am exhausted.

Isolation

Isolation Protocol

 Yesterday morning, I called the ambulance for my Sweetie Pie. He had a terrible night with shortness of breath and teeth chattering chills, and that horrible cough that he has had for over a month. I got up and dressed at 6 AM to take him to Emergency in Kingston, but he surprised me by announcing he wanted an ambulance. That is so unlike him, that I gladly complied. With my son and his GF up and sitting with my husband, I proceeded to gather his medications and his health card together and went outside to wait for them. I flagged them as soon as I saw them, so they would know which house they were looking for. They put him on an oxygen mask immediately, after taking his health card, and took the bag of medications on the stretcher. It was almost like I had done this before. Ha. 

By the time I walked into Emergency, he was admitted to a room inside, but I hadn't missed anything. They took him to X-ray and took  blood samples one hour apart. Then they announced an isolation protocol. Everyone entering his cubicle had to don a fresh gown, mask, eye shield (if not wearing glasses) and rubber gloves. So this was ME for the 10+ hours I was there yesterday. If I left the room to use the washroom or ask a question at the nurse's desk, I had to dispose of everything upon leaving the cubicle and put everything clean back on upon entering. It was a terribly lo-o-ong day. I appreciated when my son and GF came mid-day. The doctors'  first course of action was to try and take fluid off him by giving him diuretics. (He already takes one every day), but after several hours, it was obvious that wasn't really working. Their initial reaction was too much fluid in his lungs. So last night before I left, they decided they would treat it aggressively as an infection and treat with antibiotics and more steroids. Internal medicine is in charge, but they are keeping the renal transplant unit in the loop. They admitted him but had no bed for him, so they moved him to a quieter area in Emerg. still under isolation protocol. He spent the night there, while I came home to phone my son out West and my Daughter in Bradford to update them. Of course I had nothing further to report and still don't; but, he just called me at 8:50 to say that they had moved him to a room. I will pack up the items he has asked for. Yes, he sounded so much better this morning. They started the first round of antibiotics last night and were already taking blood to "grow cultures", So we are pretty sure he will spend Thanksgiving weekend in hospital. 

I spent $50.00 yesterday on gas for the van. This will come from gas money, but I paid from my household budget first and will reimburse it. I bought 2 sandwiches, one choco chip cookie and two milk for $20.63  Can you believe that? I had my first bite of my sandwich 24 hours after I last ate. They hadn't fed my husband all day, so I left the sandwich, cookie and chocolate milk with him last night. He still wasn't up to eating. When I went to pay for my parking voucher when I left last night, the machine asked for $18.00  I thought there was a parking ceiling on the price, but evidently not. The machine would only take cash or credit card. I brought no cash with me, so I tried my Master card, which the reader was refusing to read. A lovely woman was leaving (she already paid for her parking) and she tried to help. So she ended up paying for my parking ticket with her credit card. I objected. I tried to find out from her how to pay her back. She just smiled and walked away. That was the first time I cried yesterday. Everything just poured out. She must have know by the $18 that I had been there a long, long time. I was so very grateful. I will bring cash with me from now on. Maybe I will run into her again, or maybe I can pay it forward. 

Sorry this was so long. If you are still following along, I have to go now and pack up some things for my Sweetie and get going. I am bringing my Blackberry with me so I can read emails and blogs today. But I won't have video chat. Bye for now.

Busy Wednesday

My day started early with my Doctor's appointment. Although it was scheduled for 10:30, I sat in the waiting room for a good 30 minutes before I was called in. This has never happened before.  We discussed the results of my blood tests 2 weeks ago. My thyroid medication dosage has been increased, but everything else will remain the same for the time being. I need to watch my diet and do some exercise. Seriously. I got my Shingles vaccine at no cost to me.

Afterwards, I stopped by my friend's apartment (abdominal surgery) and hung two drapery panels for her. I had to take down the drapery rods from two windows to hang an extra panel on each of them. It took about an hour. She gifted me with a plate of fresh baked peanut butter cookies, (Yum) and a small photo album.

 

Bulk Barn purchases cost $60.95

Two full containers of oatmeal, more whole wheat flour, more red kidney beans, and brown sugar. In the first row, black beans, walnuts, beef bouillon powder, Thompson raisins, shelf stable Parmesan cheese, more black beans, Romano beans, chili powder, Yeast and Splenda packets. It always looks like more when it is put away in containers.

Giant Tiger Specials of the week cost me $14.26

Canned mushrooms (77 cents each), Old cheddar and Mozzarella block cheese ($3.87 each) a black Forest ham for $4.98

Watercolouring

 

 

 

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I started my day in the Craft room getting rid of those piles of paper I showed you the other day. The card stock was already sorted by colour, so I just slipped each pile into a clear 12 x 12 envelope. The printed papers were a mix of card stock and paper, so I sorted those down further and placed each into a clear envelope. Once my table was again cleared off, I proceeded to stamp and do some water colouring. I painted three mason jars with flowers (one is already mailed out as a "thank you" card), and I also painted these little squirrels to make two more Thanksgiving cards for the weekend. I mailed out four cards today.

This was a no-spend day. It was also a no project day. I only did the dishes this morning and made a stir fry for dinner tonight. The rest of the time was crafting.

Daybook: Monday, October 3/16

Outside my window.....it is overcast and wet. It rained last night, but we have mild temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius. If the sun comes out and dries this all up, it will be perfect weather for working outside.

I am thinking......that I may have been too ambitious in expecting I can get all of my goals accomplished for October, but it will give my direction some focus.

I am thankful.....for my Sweeties scratch ticket winnings yesterday offsetting the cost somewhat of the new printer we "needed" to buy.

From the kitchen.....I made a large pot of homemade turkey soup yesterday that should last all week. I also made crock pot lasagna (or lazy lasagna) from the Company's Coming cookbook, for supper last night. There are leftovers to enjoy. I used tomatoes from the garden.

I am wearing.....jeans, a tan coloured T-shirt with deer on the front, and gray fuzzy socks. I am such a fashionista.

I am creating.....Thanksgiving cards.

I am going.....with my husband at noon to the Kingston hospital for his prostate biopsy.

I am hoping.....that the biopsy goes well. An appointment has already been scheduled for the 25th of this month to discuss the results. I am also hoping for some relief for his leg pain that has been particularly bad this past couple of weeks.

I am hearing....only the filters working on the aquarium. The dishwasher has just finished the dry cycle on a load of dishes I have done already this morning. The dog and cats are sleeping, as is my Sweetie, He did not sleep well last night.

Around the house.....there is lots of work to be done, both inside and outside. Good thing I have some goals in mind. I have to clear off my work table so I can begin wrapping the little gifts I have so far for the Advent Calendars.

One of my favourite things.....evidentally, is my printer. I never realized how often I use it or how much I depend on it, until I no longer had one.

A few plans for the rest of the week......include  an appointment on Wednesday with my own doctor to get my Shingles vaccine and discuss the results of my blood work from a couple of weeks ago. Oh-oh. Having already checked my results on-line, I know that my thyroid, sugar and lipids are high. She has already increased my thyroid medication in the interim, but now I am sure she will want to run another glucose test. My sugar has always run high. Or maybe she wants to discuss my diet, since I must be eating too much fatty or starchy foods for those results. Before or after the appointment, I will stop at my friend's apartment (abdominal surgery) to hang another drapery panel in her living room where the air conditioner was up until now.
 This weekend is our Canadian Thanksgiving, so we will be going to Smith Falls on Sunday to celebrate with my brother, SIL and two nieces. Then on Monday, we have a standing invitation every year to celebrate with our good friends in Charleston Lake. Their son and his new bride will be there, having just returned from their honeymoon in France and Corsica.

Here is a picture I am sharing......of  some of our new purchases from yesterday. A new printer and some art supplies. I bought glitter paper in Christmas colours, 20 foil sheets, burlap sheets, more adhesive rhinestones, and two rolls of adhesive tape.

Goals Update

What happened to my nice clear worktable??

My goals for September were:

I would like to finish organizing and cleaning my Craft Room.

I did this more or less to my satisfaction. And then yesterday, I proceeded to work through several boxes of scrap paper and sorted by colour. I want to be able to use up these scraps before I use any more full sheets of card stock. I also want to make up some cards using scraps of design paper. Waste not, want not.  I did manage to empty a lot of boxes.

I want to wash all the windows both inside and outside. 

I successfully washed all the windows on the main level, inside and outside including frames and tracks. I will tackle the rest of the windows upstairs when I deep clean each room. 

 

I want to remove all weeds from the veggie bed and move more strawberry plants out of the garden into the bins.

This is the goal that sort of fell by the wayside. I am still harvesting veggies from the garden, but I have spent two afternoons this past month pulling weeds. I did not move any strawberry plants into planters, but hope to do more this week, as temperatures will be in the low 20's. 

 

 Each week I would like to report on these areas: cleaning, organization and purging,  my spending, crafting, maintenance and preparedness. 

Although I was doing this more than once a week at the beginning of September, I began doing less of it by the second half of the month as the deadline loomed for getting my other goals done on time. I should probably pick one day...perhaps a Friday, to report on those areas.

My goals for October:

• spend time outdoors every week pruning shrubs, mowing the lawn and/or pulling weeds
• deep clean the dining room
• deep clean the living room
• deep clean the master bedroom and bath
•  spend time every week doing crafts, paying special attention to Christmas gifts 

There you have it. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew. The most important goal is to have most of the Advent Calendars done, so the last one is the one I will concentrate on. 

October's Shopping Trips

Yesterday, late in the afternoon, my Sweetie and I went for the first shop of October. We went to one grocery store (Freshco) where I thought they had the most specials on my list.

Sundries (non-food items) cost me $31.70

 The parchment paper and medium freezer bags were not on sale, so I bought the store brand. Notice also that I have bought another laundry detergent. That is because I still haven't picked up any washing soda. The last two stores I have looked for it but cannot find it. I also need it to make my Miracle Spray all-purpose cleaner, which I am running low on. I will try No-Frills later this week. 

Meat cost $22.20. 

 The eye of round was on for $2.77/lb. and the Italian sausage was $3.00/lb. The roast was cut into 3 chunks before I put it in the freezer.

Dairy totaled $12.89

 I was happy to find Becel Vegan margarine here at Freshco. I have always had to make a special trip to get this for my daughter before her visits, or to take her any baking. Now I will be able to buy it all the time.  I also bought plain yoghurt with active culture, so I can try to make my own yoghurt with my new machine I got last weekend. 

Pantry items (and that bag of Tostitos, haha) cost $17.94

Produce and juice cost me $9.48

This is where I got my biggest savings. The 10 lb. bag of carrots, potatoes, and onions each cost $1.97
The tins of DelMonte Veggies were .79 cents each, so I bought a case of peas. I may go back for niblets corn. The rutabaga was 59 cents a pound. The bananas were regular price of 56 cents a pound. But the orange juice (ahem Nathalie and Bless) believe it or not, was on sale for $4.49, a savings of $1.20. OJ is very expensive. I bought 2 loaves of Villagio bread for $4.58 (not pictured) for a total grocery receipt of $115.97  My savings due to sale items amounted to $46.30  I have not picked up my Shopper's gift card yet for this month.

Today, my Sweetie and I went out again to spend lots of money. Drat! Our printer is definitely finito. Staples had a sale on printers this weekend, so we went to check it out. We ended up buying a Canon (the ink cartridges appear to be slightly cheaper than other printers), two new cartridges, a $10  2 yr. warranty,  and some more printer paper for a total of $170......an unplanned expense this month.  We also stopped at the Dollar Tree for me to pick up some more 2-way tape for my crafting; but of course, I found a few more crafting items that appealed to me (though totally unnecessary), for under $10

While my son and his GF were setting up the printer for us, I went out to the garden to harvest more vegetables and my Sweetie went to the  Pop-In store to cash in a $5 winning lottery ticket. He bought 2 more tickets with his winnings, and won $100  instantly on a scratch ticket. He  gave me $60, so the price of the printer was only $110, and he kept $40 for his mad money to buy more lottery tickets. It should last him a couple of months. *laugh*