Received: Fresh Off the Spool Winnings!

Danielle was very quick with sending my winnings!  What a wonderful selection of items - I'll start using them tomorrow!  Thank you so much!

http://quiltquest.blogspot.com/2013/05/winner-of-drawing-fresh-off-spool.html

Mon May 13: Nothing done

Today all I did was sleep and watch TV.

Oh well.

Sun May 12: Legal Seafood

We got Zip Car and met Joe and Barbara and Legal Seafood for Mother's Day Dinner.  Great company - fabulous food.

28 oz steak

Grilled Shrimp

Nut Crusted Salmon and Mushroom Ravioli

Sat May 11: Salad, Bridge and Large Projection TV

Pink Snow -
Tree petals after
wind and rain

Today I woke late again - so after phone calls and emails there was only enough time for me to go to Live Alive to pick up salad for tonight - then I met DH at bus and we went to Wincester to friends'.

White Lilacs

We practiced a few hands of bridge - it was more fun just to do with the four of us without the teacher who really wasn't a good teacher but really knows bridge.  We missed his knowledge, but had more fun and practice on our own.

Then we had stuffed peppers and salad for dinner.

Whole wall TV

Then watched The Forbidden Planet on their whole wall projection TV.

I wasted time in the morning on a Freecycle problem.  Yesterday evening I had seen a notice for some assorted fabric scraps, beads and embroidery thread and had written the guy to say I was interested.  In his reply he gave his address and said it was now in two large trader joe's bags and he was including sewing patterns.  I checked google and saw it was 40 minutes for me to walk to his place.  So I said I could put what I could in my back pack but couldn't carry something that was heavy or bulky for that far.  He wrote that the deal was to take it all and I would need to get a ride to pick it up and take all or to tell him it was off and he would re-post it.  (This was all within a few minutes so I don't know what he meant about reposting it but maybe there is something I don't know about.)  So I wrote he should re-post it and thank you for using free cycle.  Then I reread the notes and wrote again as I wanted him to know that even though I mainly was interested in the fabric I would have taken it all as agreed and freecycled myself the left overs but that I didn't realize there would be so much stuff and so far away.

So this morning I get an email from him telling me to stop spamming him and how clear he had been on the amount of stuff that I clearly wasn't a decent person! So that was a kick in the gut. I reread his original post and did see that I had missed in the title that it was 4-5 bags of stuff - but the size of the stuff was not clear and since he was talking about beads and embroidery thread I guess I was thinking little bags.  Anyway, after thinking about it I decide to just erase all the emails and to hope he had a successful pick up with someone else, and I would be a more careful reader of details on the postings.  I've burned his name in my memory though so I don't respond to any of his postings again!  According to Seth Godin I should have perhaps tried again to fix the miscommunication, but calling me 'not decent' put an end to thinking about about how to do that.

From:  http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2013/05/miscommunication.html

The hospice intake case worker did a really good job of communicating this evening - she was working late to finish up the paperwork.  It would be nice to have email or fax communication so I would be more sure to remember everything, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

Boy, I really appreciate the time my friend Ci in spending with mom during this time.

Tues May 7: Avoiding, Then Finishing

No it wasn't sewing today either.

First I opened the email to find that two of the faxes I sent last night didn't arrive, but the nurse had written to say it was okay for me to send as attachment - so I did that.

Ja wrote and said it was okay for mom to have that hospice provider after all - so spent time notifying people of that. 

Then what I was avoiding was reading applications submitted for an award my organization is giving.

I went walking to a new to us cafe for a sandwich - delicious Cuban roasted pork.  We'll be back to that place for sure!

A few more emails for mom when I returned, then finally to the applications.  I printed out the list of people, read all the entries and wrote notes on each one.  I hadn't been told to do more - so that is what I did.  After three hours I clicked to submit my rankings and ratings for the top three.  It will be interesting to see if my choices overlap at all with anyone else's.

We walked to get some Indian to split for dinner - nice.  I had a pineapple lassi - didn't know that existed!  Yummy.

I tried again to get the presser foot to fit but can't - so I will need to take it to a shop I think to figure things out.

About the sewing machine:

The machine manual says
there could be screw-on
presser feet for this machine.

Shows the general foot disconnected
and the new one ready to be installed
- but I can't make it fit

Manual showing the two
types of presser feet possible
for the machine.

Mon May 6: Tied to the Phone

Well, not just the phone but the computer for emails and faxes.

A long day - that of course ended with stress.

So first I got a fax with consent forms to sign for hospice.  I printed that and read it and sent email questions to the email on the fax.  Got some answers via email, wrote more questions.

Then called the doctor to verify what mom's terminal illness is that qualifies her for hospice.  It's dementia with age - there was a fancier name I should have written it down.  The doctor was very nice with taking time to discuss with me.

I didn't write down the order of remaining calls/emails.

The case manager at the rehab center called and said mom had a new splint that was more secure, and she was eating okay.  She said I think that she had spoken with Lu to notify her of the day of discharge and everything was okay.  She is going to check to see if transportation should be in wheelchair or flat - and will call back.

I guess I wrote so many questions about the form they had a person call me and walk me thru my questions and how to fill out the form.  She said after 90-days they have to write  report to get funding, then after another 90-days it's the same, then it goes to every 60-days.  That nothing would change for mom or for me if things were the same with mom.  The broken leg made this apparent to them, but didn't cause it.  So the original insurance will still be used for the non hospice things.  She has ordered items to be delivered to VLM for mom.  Mom's primary care doctor agreed with arrangements and would stay with her as doctor.  After the call I thought I had a clearer idea of how things were set up.

But then Ci sent me email that Lu had called and said they usually worked with a different hospice.  Someone from that company called while Ci was busy and she didn't get their name or number.  As soon as she could she called the insurance hospice to verify they worked with VLM. They said they did and it was up to the family what hospice service they used.  After all these hours on the phone, reading, verifying - what a monkey wrench Lu has thrown in.  I have worked to develop a relationship with her doctors and don't want to do anything to jeopardise that.

I wish she had mentioned something way back the first time I had called her. But then in retrospect she never called me, I just heard she had called or other people had called her. I always asked to be sure they consulted her...

So the day ends with stress again.

I wasn't even able to do any stress releasing FMQing as it turns out I bought the wrong foot for this machine. Ugh!

I don't see what difference it makes with which hospice service works with mom - they only work with one person at a time anyway.

I'm missing something.  Hope it isn't sleep!

So I'm just waiting now to have Lu's son email or text me with what to do.

Sunday May 5: Harvard Mayfair

This morning we got a pretty early start (for us) and stopped by Harvard Square to see the Mayfair.  It was a massive collection of a variety of booths - food, crafts, businesses, fun!  The roads were closed off and the streets were lined with the booths.  So many things to see and buy and eat and think about.

DH was intrigued with a folding wooden chair that provided extra support for his back - I was interested in food!  We shared a plate of Korean food Bulgoki YUM! from Takemura on 18 Eliot Street. YUM!  It's a Japanese restaurant with Korean food too - anyway I'll have to go there and eat sometime soon!  Their dinner menu has pretty high prices - I got rice, cabbage, onion and half beef and half spicy pork bulgoki for $7 at Mayfair. That is closer to their lunch prices...  We also had a plate on Indian food that was very good too - from a restaurant on Newbury Street.

Then it was off to the T to go to Davis Square!  There was an open house for a nice place - problem was it was right next to an apartment and parking lot - probably too close to the city part of things.

After that we went to an art gallery with a twist - it was fiber art.  Fun food made of yarn - and other things.  They are having an event in August that DH said he would enter - something to do with maps.  So that was fun.  We stopped at Goodwill and I found a super little shirt for my son's friend - then we went to Dunkin Doughnuts for a regular iced coffee - it was delicious!  The coffee cake muffin is very good - DH gets those and they are always better than the doughnut I get.  This time I didn't bother eating it all....

Then instead of going on the T right away we went out a different door and walked along a parkway - a bikeway built on top of the T line.  Beautiful trees, benches, it was very nice and made us realize we liked this part of the city too.

Sometimes it's Cambridge, sometimes it's Sommerville...  We made it to Mass Avenue then saw sign for a garden to be open - it was an oasis in the city - so restful.  Water, chimes, rustling leaves and a few flowers too.

Davis T Art

We made our way back to Davis and took the T to Harvard so DH could get his chair - and I got him a grilled sausage sandwich.  He took the bus back while I walked and enjoyed the last of the sunshine for the day.

We watched an episode of The Tutors.  I made phone calls to check on mom and other things - now he is listening to a podcast and I am not sure what I am going to do now.  It's dark, a  little chilly but I think I'd like to walk some more.  The light in the dining/sewing room isn't very good at night time.  I could set up the machine but don't think I should sew now....

 

The people at hospice seem very organized and nice - seems things are covered pretty much under Medicare Part A - there will still be some medications we get thru Secure Horizons but they will write the prescriptions, etc.  They will fax a form for me to sign and return - seems the only remaining things are the doctor to okay the students to do upper body exercises and to get the okay to transport her back to VLM in our van.

I'm a Winner: Fresh Off the Spool

I got email from gmail that my mail box was too full again - something made me look at the headers of emails in my SPAM folder and I found that I had received an email last week that I had won a really nice drawing - the first by Danielle of Fresh off the Spool.  Her email asked me to reply by Friday - but I didn't read until this morning so we'll see if being one day late means I don't win her wonderful selection of things.  It's the ruler that I can immediately use - but since I'll be binding soon too those clips sure would be nice too.

But in any case, I'm glad I found her blog and hope you will visit it to see all the interesting projects she is working on.

These are the items in the drawing:

• Clover Wonder Clips-I love these and use them all the time! They are great for binding. No more pins sticking me!!
• OLFA non-slip Frosted Ruler- I love this ruler because the frost makes it easier to see light and dark fabric no matter what color your cutting mat is. I also love the very thin lines on it to make more accurate cutting.
• True Grips non-slip adhesive rings- This will help with the ruler. Although the ruler says non-slip, it does. If you add these rings, or even the dots in the rings, believe me, it ain't going anywhere!
• Clover Seam Ripper- Clover has a few different styled ones. I love this because of the very small blade, and the handle is so comfortable
• Schmetz sharp needles- I just like these best.

Update! I wrote Danielle before she drew names again so she will be sending me all these useful things!  Good way to start the day.  : )

Fri May 3: Extra Care and Rosebud's Diner

This morning DH and I walked to a new place in Central Square for breakfast - it was really nice - not sure why we hadn't noticed it before.  We both had noticed separately last week - it's between a coffee shop and a little store - neither than we have visited, but they are on the way between Harvard and Central.

After that he went to the Main Library and I went down to the Central Square Library to get the class list for the water color class later in the month.

On the way I passed a beautiful yard of tulips and other flowers, ended up meeting the owner and having a nice time chatting with him.

 He planted over 1000 bulbs last year when he inherited the apartment house from his uncle.  They are even more dramatic in person!  He told bulbs have to be redone every three years about - so he has a little rest this year and can work on the inside units instead!

I learned more about the neighborhood and restaurants he enjoys.  He was a good person to meet.  We exchanged emails and he sent the list of restaurants so I wouldn't forget and could visit them.

The supplies for the class will be around $30 so I bought some today and will return later to get more.  I visited Rodney's books on the way back and saw some nice books - I thought I'd go back on Saturday to look more.

At home I worked on getting the file up to date for our little business in Quickbooks.

I read in the paper that Rosebud Diner had been sold and was going to close the end of the month, so when DH came home I suggested we go there for dinner.  It's a train car made up for seating for cafe...  The food was very nice.  We had grilled combination of meats - and dessert.

While we were walking to dinner, a lady from hospice called and said my mom met the criteria for their home health program.  So when she is discharged from the rehab facility she will have home health people come to visit, and the assisted living place will be able to call for help 24/7.  What a relief to have this extra help for her.  I'm so sorry though that she had this accident and broke her leg bones - she was enjoying going to her exercise program and to have her nails and hair done each week. Hopefully by the time I return she will be back to being able to do those things.  The hospice lady said she was being given pain management pills twice a day now on a schedule.  My friend said she was back to saying it was a nice day and was eating her food so I guess the pain meds are working. Accidents happen, but I am surprised or maybe not surprised that the family of the lady who made her stand up and then let her go has not called to see how my mom is doing.  The doctor said being in hospice care does not mean they have a timeline for the end - just that they work to be sure she is comfortable.  I'm hoping when I return she will be able to go back on her program of going to program and to the beauty shop.  To that end I'll get some students to come to her to work on upper body stuff as soon as the doctor gives the okay.

I finished up all the Quickbooks stuff that I wanted to - there is still more, but I'm hoping Saturday to be able to clear the table and actually sew!

Wed May 1: Juice

After reading emails, went to Life Alive to pick up food for the day.

Life Alive, Superhero Alive, Jive Alive, Simply Alive & Wheatgrass

DH and I split the salad, the Life Alive and Simply Alive Juices for our first meal of the day.  Delicious!  (I had the wheatgrass myself as it builds red blood cells, something he is not supposed to need help with.)  So we have the same amount of food to split for another meal today - sweet!

Explorer Salad & Green Goddess Bowl

All delicious - I'm not sure if I'll be able to actually do an all juice 3-days as Tina did at Carrots 'n Cake, but I'm so glad I read her entry as it hadn't occurred to me to even try the juices at Life Alive.  So far the juices just take good, we have a few more to go before we have tasted them all.  I wanted to taste ahead by sharing with DH just in case there was something I didn't like at all!  Just in case I do try a 3-day juice adventure.

It was only $45 for all this freshly made goodness, still less than the $60 Tina was paying just for her juices...  I enjoyed the 3500 steps to and from the restaurant too!

There were more calls regarding my mom today, she is doing well.  Eating and saying "it's a nice day."  The sent a fax that she would be at end of coverage on Friday so that meant a bunch of time calling and trying to figure out the system.  You'd really think these rehab places would do a better job of communicating with family members - but this is our fourth experience and even though now I know a little better what to expect - I expect to be surprised at the end. And if again they discharge her without pain medication prescription it will be running around to get that settled.....