Sunday, Apr 5
For Apr 4 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 22 min with AHI = 0.41 Events: 3H, 1CSR. No major mask leaks (max=7 L/min).
Finished the blog today because of being too busy the past couple of days. It’s sunny and cold, with rain or snow maybe possible tonight.
I have had a horrible time with my Oximetry reporting. Printing I have done for months is no longer working. Finally, I realized none of my printer sends would work. I used the troubleshooter, and amazingly, it started working. I was not happy being unable to print anything.
Monday, Apr 6
For Apr 5 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 44 min with AHI=0.00 Events: none. No major mask leaks (max=15 L/min).
John’s hoping the last 3 hours of landscaping will be completed today. He’s been out moving rocks, and now is out searching again for an old survey marker. He may later go across the creek to look for the NW corner supposed to be there. I don’t believe the latter ever occurred, and he still has not found a marker at the NE corner.
I’m hoping to get a lot done in the house. I found out my 2010 SongWriter is still operational on my computer in the back room – our old ‘XP’ system. [This system was originally released in late 2001 and Microsoft ended support, more or less, last April.]
I made it back from a photo shoot out front; the bulldozer is working on the front part where the new fence will be built, and the backhoe was working on digging the ditch to either side of the culverts to reroute the irrigation water. Now the bulldozer is headed back to move rock piles, but I don’t think I will try to capture that. Meanwhile, here are photos of part of the efforts:
Above left is the before of the front area needing re-contoured. On the right is it in progress. Note the dirt-scar of the rock crib that was there a few weeks ago. You have seen previous photos with it standing with the fence going west from it.
These two processes were happening simultaneously with bulldozer (son operating) and backhoe (father operating). Left is the unfinished leveling of the old topography in our front, looking into the driveway. The right shows the work on the channel downstream from the new culvert diversion. In this picture the original irrigation ditch is flowing still in the left channel. Just beyond the logs (tree parts) the channel will be filled where the new-drive will go.
Pat Jenkins Working on Culvert
Culvert Work Showing Old & New Channels
Chance Jenkins Recontouring Front Yard
Heading back to tax organization that I keep being drawn away from (blog creation 4/11 is making it happen again).
Tuesday, Apr 7
For Apr 6 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 49 min with AHI=0.77 Events: 6H, 5CSR. No major mask leaks (max=14 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 11 min AHI = 0.65
I’m having issues with uploading my oximetry data again. I will wait until later now to try again, but the connection shut down my computer to a blue screen. Such things are always scary. I had to do a number of things before getting back to my tax stuff. Until it is backed up from today, off this computer, I will wait to try again. I called the bank about “mortgage insurance paid” that didn’t show on my 1098 as in years past. Still haven’t gotten that resolved (and might not be until Monday). Managed to download and print my 4868 form to apply for an extension to file my 2014 taxes. Now I have to fill in and mail by the 15th.
For a relaxing break, this link is worth a look, especially if you like turtles and/or diving.
Take a turtle break
While mentioning animals, here is an owl story from our friends at the Paradisos Del Sol Winery and their vineyard in Zillah.
That’s Paul in pink shirt and straw hat.
They used to be one of our lower Yakima Valley winery stops for our Geography class each summer. The two photos above are from one of our field trips. They also are family, having had one of our Brittanys. Barbara was walking home from an adjacent vineyard (friends) and saw an injured Great Horned owl. She stopped to give it assistance and found it allowed her to pick it up. She walked home two miles, carrying it. Pictures below. The next day, it allowed her to pick it up again and they carried it to a rehab facility. More of the follow-up story will follow when she hears. This is an amazing shot of the two of them.
That’s Barbara with her newly found friend.
I successfully updated my Turbo Tax software, which took 15 minutes, and was able to enter medical information with still more to go. I am currently working on charitable donations and medical expenses.
Wednesday, Apr 8
For Apr 7 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 51 min with AHI=0.89 Events: 6H, 1CSR, 1OA. No major mask leaks (max=21 L/min), with SpO2 added, 8 hrs 4 min AHI = 0.87
I took my late Easter card by Swedbergs and they were in the front yard in their car, leaving for Yakima. Perfect timing. She loved it (pictures of daffodils and Yellow bells). I drove on to the Food Bank, played, and ate there. We had Strata (egg dish with sausage), homemade salsa, apple strudel made with waffles as the dough, fruit salad, and frosted white cake for dessert. From there I went to the hospital lab for a routine blood draw (monthly) for my INR rating to determine the dosage of Coumadin. I skipped SAIL exercise to get home to work on taxes, but it was good I didn’t plan to go there, by the usual 1:30 start. I wouldn’t have made it. I got in at 1:00, was second in line, but was not seen for a 1/2 hour. People arriving after me were called in first. Go figure. I came home stopping to take a few photos of clouds and of a new rock crib. I had my camera so I could take pictures of the progress of the landscaping before leaving the driveway, because the sun was shining and rain was expected. Below are my cloud photos today along with some other interesting views on my trip home.
Above, top left is a view toward Manastash Ridge to the south of our Kittitas Valley. Top right is Mt. Daniel behind the sun-struck wind towers off Highway 10 to Cle Elum. Lower left are snow clouds over Colockum Ridge that is between us and White Heron Cellars on the Columbia. Lower right is taken from 1/2 mile south of our house, looking north to the same hills. It snowed only a few small flakes on the process of finishing work noted below.
I arrived home to the final changes of the passage across the culvert under the new access road. Finally, John and I took a tour on foot to see all the completed projects (well, some have much clean up by John of rocks and soil scraped from the top, and some roots). The once standing trees are only about half cut into firewood lengths, so that’s left to do too.
View of New bridge — Old & New Channels
Panoramic View From New Bridge
Once Piles of Rocks Moved Are Gone
Thursday, Apr 9
For Apr 8 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 52 min with AHI=0.51 Events: 4H,2CSR. No major mask leaks (max=17 L/min), with SpO2 added, 8 hrs 11 min AHI = 0.49
I emailed NCGE, and others about expenses, and fiddled with the CPAP daily reports. John saw and tried to get a photo of buzzards with wings spanned in our old snags, but missed. Here is a picture from wikimedia: [from Marlin Harms; near Santa Margarita Lake, CA]
I spent good time on the phone with Dan, the triage nurse who participates in the Coumadin clinic in Cle Elum. My INR was 2.0, but no need to have a dosage change. I told him that meant I could have 4 ounces of wine with dinner tonight, and he got a good laugh from that, and said, go for it!
John just took off for many stops in Yakima and then back to Ellensburg. He’ll hit the wood stove place, Big Five for boots, Costco, and then come back by Super 1 in town and Cruse & Nelson Surveyors to discuss our boundary marker needs. (Sadly, the surveyor he needed to talk with was not there). I went to the Rehab to play music with 6 folks, and drop off some egg cartons to a gal’s husband at his work. She wants to use them to start plants for her garden. I checked and got negative responses from our chicken-owning friends.
My banker, Don Reid, at the Ellensburg, WA office said he could access my information but he was unable without my okay. He gave me a number but also said I could do it on line. That effort failed, and I await news on Monday.
Friday, Apr 10
For Apr 9 CPAP. Reported figures. 2 hrs 11 min with AHI=0.91 Events: 2H, 2VS, 1 PP. No major mask leaks (max=11 L/min), with SpO2 added, 8 hrs 36 min AHI = 0.23 Last night was an extremely bad night with sinus interference with the CPAP usage.
I have sneezed a lot in the past couple of days, and the past two nights, I have had trouble adjusting my CPAP mask not to leak. My solution was to tighten the straps on my head to push the nasal cushion harder into my nose. I dislike doing that because of the chafing that occurs. I try to put aloe lotion on it, but yesterday I didn’t and one of the music group members asked me if I had a dermatitis problem. Last night I adjusted it tightly again. It was difficult starting. At 2 hours into the session, I was awakened with a strange smell coming through the tube. I removed the mask, cleared my nose, which was running, and tried again. It wasn’t working so I took the mask off. My nose was extremely cold. I held my hand on it to warm it and decided to turn the humidifier to 5 hoping the warm air would help. I never have had warm air coming from the system, and it always reports it is disconnected. I guess I need to ask the Medical Supply place and take it with me to the next visit. The first response I got when I asked was that if I was running on zero (which I do a lot), it would register as disconnected. That change has failed to show a difference.
The air blasted pretty hard, I ramped it down, but I never felt any heat in 11 minutes. I left it turned on. My sinuses were so painful and my nose was running that I had to remove the mask. I spent the rest of the night off the CPAP, but with the Oximeter running. My sleep was seriously disrupted. I remember last looking at the clock at 3:30, so perhaps I went to sleep after that, but I did not sleep until then. I remember looking again at 4:30 and maybe 6. I finally got up to blow my nose again, although I had a TP roll with me using it all night. This morning I gave myself a Simply Saline treatment. My nose is so chafed the little pitcher pourer hurts like heck and has a little sharp bump on it from a bad mold, I guess. I’m still sneezing off and on. It is still irritated. As for the CPAP, this morning, I changed the nasal piece on my mask to a brand new one, and I replaced the main air tube as well. Maybe that will help.
Much time spent on CPAP reports and on talking with the bank about my mortgage stuff regarding taxes.
John is working outside, and I am inside. Now he’s left for Friday specials at 3 stores (garden/hardware, and 2 grocery) and I’m keeping busy. We can deduct all the mileage for John to volunteer for the WTA, so I’m compiling that for August through Nov., his last trip of the year. Interruptions, so what’s new? Back to work again, at 5:40.
Hope Source Jordan L. is in charge of wood stoves. I left a message and he returned my call. We talked and exchanged emails. Heard from Carol (RSVP) to check with Reno at Solid Waste. It was after hours. Also talked to Lana Smith at Blue Ridge Insurance; we do not have to do anything. New stoves are certified, and nothing needs changed or noted on our insurance. I sent an email to Sue Billings (DOE) but got an automated reply that she’s not back until April 15. She is the air quality person for our region, and I asked her when the next buyback on old stoves was expected in our area. Supposedly, we can receive $200 for the old stove; it is against the law to resell it, or give it to someone to use.
Saturday, Apr 11
For Apr 10 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 59 min with AHI=1.25 Events: 8H, 1CSR, 2OA, 1PP. No major mask leaks (max=18 L/min).
It is sunny, but cold, and very windy, making the wind chill penetrating. Wind was slight (3mph) until 4:00 a.m. when the sustained rate jumped to 30 mph and a gust of 38 mph. It stayed near that all day but did not reach the NWS forecast of 45. About 6 PM it started to fade and at 9 PM we are down to 5 mph.
We are under a Wind Advisory until 9PM. Here’s the discussion on line.
A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS ARE FORECAST BETWEEN 30 AND 39 MPH OR GUSTS RANGING FROM 45 TO 57 MPH. WINDS OF THESE MAGNITUDES CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT, ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE MAY ALSO OCCUR.
Morning delivery of wheelbarrow to a new “Buy Nothing” friend 6 miles away. She picked it up on her way home from town. She brought us a red iron-on patch to fix the hole in John’s shirt and threw in a jar of her homemade plum jam. Now we will remember to share plums with her this year.
The picture above shows our old “farm truck” on the new access drive, sharing with a deer, and in the back of the truck are the old wheelbarrow and 7 pallets another person comes this afternoon to pickup. The idea is to transfer from the bed of one pickup to the other (neither happened). If you look past the deer, you can see our blue&white wind gauges on the posts (bumpers) next to the old barn. The newer pole barn is to the left. The right photo is of the gift bag, with the pint of plum preserves, the iron-on patch, sitting on the plum colored (actually red) shirt showing one of the holes needing repaired. Another little piece can fix another hole on the sleeve. The old wheelbarrow is being replaced with a 4-wheeled cart that can be pulled behind the small garder tractor/lawn mower. More next week. It’s due to be delivered Tuesday.
With the wheelbarrow transfer done John headed to the Kittitas Conservation District to pick up 25 baby trees – Ponderosa & Austrian pines, and Blue Spruce. He helped with this plant sale many years ago but it grew larger than volunteers could take care of. AmeriCorps teams have been doing it. Apparently many folks are treed-out, and now the number of sales has declined over the past 3 years. We only got as many as we did because we intend to share.
This afternoon at 3:00, the folks came in a truck to pick up the pallets. John was using the chainsaw on the old wood piled south of the house. He wears somewhat heavy clothing (Personal protective equipment, commonly referred to as “PPE”) that seems less burdensome with a bit of wind and cool temps. We got up to the truck with pallets just as the folks finished the transfer. Perfect timing. John went back to the chainsaw and finished with a fresh tree from which he cut 3 ft. sections to contain hot coals from the raclette fire.
He is now back and said there is a raging storm north of us in the Wilson Creek & Naneum drainages. It’s sunny here, but there is a just noticable mist. It was dark before the clouds passed. We’ll likely see some snow up there in the morning.
A final note from Nancy; I’m much better tonight.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan