Beginning this blog with a gorgeous photo of Mt. Hood sent to a friend of mine. This photo was taken by Jim Pankey on Nov 21, 2015, and named by friends, “A Glowing Summit.” Jim gave permission to share.
I’m sorry the resolution is not better.
Monday, Nov 23
For Nov 22 CPAP. Reported figures. 4 hrs 25 min with AHI=0.00 Events: 0 H, 11 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=15 L/min); no oximeter data. Amazingly uneventful sleep on the machine, although not for very long duration.
Today, we started by getting ready to go to town for both of us for trims on our toenails — a Medicare-paid-for perk every 9 weeks. From there we went to the hospital for a blood draw to check my INR (2.3). We left there to travel for a Buy Nothing EBRG (BNE) pickup of a wardrobe-moving box. On for John to fill a 5-gallon gas container for pro re nata (PRN) – medical jargon for as the circumstance arises. Then we drove across the valley to pick up a “desk” (more like desk-with-shelves) from another BNE give. It is rather tall, 5′ high, and almost 4′ wide. Parts are damaged but it is mostly okay – likely we’ll bolt it to a shed wall and use as shelves. I am happy John decided to drive the truck because I’m not sure it would have fit in our Subaru without a lot of work moving stuff and lowering seats. We were on the SW side of the valley from EBRG, where back in June, John left one of his hats at a house not far away. On our way home, we called and stopped by to retrieve it. It was chilly today, but we viewed gorgeous clouds in the sky, and sadly, I did not have my camera along.
Once home we both worked on unfinished chores, and still have many to do. It is snowing slightly tonight. John still has a few finishing needs on the fence and gates for the horses. All of the cats were happy to be fed.
We both felt frustrated at wasting so much time today away from home chores. John is behind on 2015 projects because of being ill all of August. God laughs when humans make plans.
Tuesday, Nov 24
For Nov 23 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 46 min with AHI=1.48 Events: 10 H, 1 CSR. 21 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=17 L/min); no oximeter data.
We awoke to 3″ of snow. I worked on inside chores. John used a wide push-broom and got the snow off walkways, paths, and even the driveway. When there is less than 4″ and fluffy, it is an easy activity and good exercise. We could just leave it but then some melts and refreezes and ice is a problem. A couple of years ago John performed a pirouette on driveway ice and clashed his right hip piriformis muscle with the sciatic nerve. The pain diminished slowly over the next 4 months. Also, today, he fed the outside animals. I fed the inside ones.
Nothing in town today called us away. Jazzercise was cancelled because our teacher, the director of the Adult Activity Center (Ellensburg’s Senior Center) is preparing for the community-wide FREE turkey dinner. Normally, I attend that dinner, going directly from the music at Hearthstone, on Wednesday, but they have set the time later for the dinner than in the past. They used to start serving at 3:00, but now it begins at 4:00, and that makes too long of a day for me, in addition to being an after-dark return home.
John explained his plans for paneling parts of our living space “den/dining” room, around the new patio door, kitchen ceiling, part of the living room, and front door entrance. He has been measuring for several days, and he needed to order from a place in Mississippi to get nice paneling, with no shipping charges, plus a special web discount of 10%. He ordered 3 samples (about 8″X10″ each). We looked at Lowe’s over a week ago and the quality of what they displayed was nowhere nearly as nice. Mantel Craft’s was much superior and will be delivered – from a warehouse near Memphis. Most of what we ordered is called Native Hickory with randomly spaced “beads” (meaning indented dark lines) as in the photo here:
Panels without the vertical lines will be used for the boxes or light shafts to the already installed skylights. We ordered several special sheets that have about a dozen graphics per sheet on them such as deer, quail, …, and geese, as below:
These will cover closet-like spaces in the dining area. One of those spaces does have shelves and the other has the hot water tank and the heating/air-handler. A few years ago we cut part of the wall away (next to the folding doors) to get a failed water tank out. The folding doors are very dark and look like plastic wood, besides not working very well. So a somewhat decorative replacement covering is in the future. That plan is in the formative stage.
Quail are in the backyard under the old pickup – no snow there — I tried getting their picture but they went out the other side. Later, I saw them leaving the yard beyond tops of shrubs cut off but not yet removed. I took this photo.
They prefer to squeeze through the fence – a tight fit – rather than fly.
The video (below) is better, even though a bit out of focus at times, as it shows nine (I think I counted right), going through our backyard, inside the fence. The fence post has lost some of the 3+ inches that fell overnight and this morning.
This afternoon John pared some more Honeycrisp apples, found two bad ones from our frig stash, so he tossed them over the fence for the deer, and then made another wonderful looking (& tasting) pie. I’m in charge of watching it while he’s out feeding our oldest equine, Ebony, her special grain and apples, as well giving hay to the rest of the horses. I monitored the apple pie, and then replaced it with cinnamon/sugared crust to cook for treats. John finished yard chores before dark, I handed him food for the three cats showing up for dinner outside, and I also fed the one in the house. That cat is spending a lot of time in the house now and, being bored, picks a bit on the dog.
Just spent some time on the jobs announcements list serve through Google Groups, but need to stop to deal with receipts, bills, and filing for income taxes, not to mention other chores. I have washed two loads of clothes, so that’s good.
Early this morning I opened Facebook as I do daily to see if there are any birthdays of friends needing a happy wish emailed card sent. I saw a note from a Buy Nothing Ellensburg (BNE) person that she had a large amount of Metamucil to give away. I picked my lucky 13 # and told her it was for my hubby. This evening I got a message that she was giving it to him. I am happy and will pick it up on my way by her house about 7 miles down the road on which we live! The PA who saw John last week recommended some such stool softener.
The interesting thing he has found about it is that 3/4 of it is (sucrose) table sugar. They sell the stuff without sugar, but hey, this batch was free. He’s taking a little with coffee and a generic capsule in the afternoon. These seem to be doing what they are supposed to do but whether or not the minor pain he has had is being treated is somewhat fuzzy.
Wednesday, Nov 25
For Nov 24 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 13 min with AHI=1.29 Events: 8 H, 2 CSR, 21 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=12 L/min); no oximeter data.
This was a full day. I started early going by Safeway for 2-liter colas for John, and then on to the food bank to set up chairs for our entertaining group to play and sing music. We had a special dish today just for the holiday, Seafood Ravioli, donated by the Ellensburg Pasta Company. They provide the main dish every Wednesday. We only had three instruments, but two extra singers, one an audience member. From there I went down to the south end of town and stopped first at the feed store to get bags of senior food for my old horse, Ebony. John feeds her the pellets and an apple every afternoon. I got several bags so we do not have to deal with holiday shopping for the rest of the year. Here she comes for her evening treat, a week before the snow:
She talks to us from early morning, asking for treats. We think she is nearly 30 years old.
I went on south in town to deliver some cat food to a gal from the Buy Nothing site who asked for someone to get her through to the first of the month. Four cats and no food – another person brought a lot and I took a little, so the cats are fine for now. She is hand sewing me a long rice-filled heating pad to cover my neck and shoulders. I donated one of my larger winter coats to her daughter several weeks ago. She was thrilled and wanted to show me her progress on the rice bag creation. My other bag is squarer, and I actually used it tonight on my aching neck. Now it’s on my left shoulder. On my way home from playing music, I stopped off for the Metamucil mentioned above.
Thursday, Nov 26 Happy Thanksgiving Day
For Nov 25 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 47 min with AHI=0.52 Events: 3 H, 1 CSR, 22 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=15 L/min); no oximeter data.
Sunny cold morning. Colder in the valley at the airport 5 miles south of us, 11°. It got up to 36° today for only one hour, and John was outside building a small shed for firewood just on the edge of the patio-slab. The parts are about 97% scavenged. The top will have plywood from disassembled pallets and metal roofing sheets from the small barn that was re-roofed about 6 years ago. Those are 12 feet long and have to be cut to the desired length. (Done but not on yet.)
All three outside cats came for breakfast and supper today. They have dry food 24/7, but during this cold weather, they need more, especially now that the mice are not as prevalent. About mice: Waiting just beyond John (above) is a small pile of firewood, covered to keep it dry. The cut shrubs about are Nanking Cherry that produce loads of fruit with a bit seed. A mouse carried about a quart of cherry pits under the cover and stockpiled them on one of the split pieces of pine. John gathered them and tossed the whole lot over the fence. So, how many pits can a mouse carry at one time? Or, how many mice did the work? If one mouse carried just one pit each trip, there ought to have been a path. Do you work as hard?
Just before noon John got the Crockpot out for slow cooking a piece of beef with onions, tomatoes, and spices. Eight hours later the beef is tender and tasty. We did not leave the house today, spending our Thanksgiving Day together, quietly. We did spent some time on the phone with John’s cousin, Ethel in PA and her daughter. We heard it was in the 50s there and sunny.
Others today are having traditional Thanksgiving dinners. I must share this cute photo sent by a former student couple from CWU. They have several large dogs, and one of them got into their desert early. I’m still laughing at this photo and hope you enjoy it too. I’m surprised she left any in the plate.
House projects were the concentration here today for me, but I made only small steps up a long staircase, metaphorically.
I managed to get a package set up for a friend back east, but I will not get it in the mail until Monday, because I have to go to the post office to mail first class with tracking. That’s a nice feature but it failed with a package I sent back east last week that needed to be returned to me (a second replacement USB connector for my oximeter). It made it there and they returned it with a tracking number saying it had left Chicago Metro and was due in Ellensburg for delivery on Friday, 11/27. Nothing has changed in several days. Wonder when I will get it. Actually, today, Sunday, I received an update of delayed delivery. It left Spokane, WA this morning at 4:18 a.m., 11/29/15. I expect it will be in tomorrow’s mail.
John realized our Thanksgiving cactus was blooming right on time. Here are a couple of tries to capture the beautiful scene merged into a collage, on the day.
We have done better photography in previous years, but here you are for 2015.
Friday, Nov 27
For Nov 26 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 54 min with AHI=2.28 Events: 18 H, 6 CSR. 23 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=20 L/min); no oximeter data.
John’s sister lives in an urban setting but has wooded bottomland nearby. Recently a deer jumped a 6 foot fence and seemed headed for her picture-window. It went around the house and through the neighbor’s yard. Our less exciting deer encounter was with a nice buck a few hundred feet from the house. John was feeding horses and 7 deer (3 with antlers) were on the brushy side of the fence. John came for his camera and then weaved a winding path through the horses so as to not frighten the animals. The smaller bucks and does have been around, but the biggest one we have not seen before. Still, he was not overly concerned about John and the camera.
With the fresh snow this week we have seen many quail and thus their tracks, such as on the left, below. On the right is an imprint of the tail feathers as one of the birds jumped into the air. Larger birds, such as Pheasants and Owls, will launch and make “snow angels” with tail, body, and wings leaving impressions. There are a few photos on the web to be seen if you search Bing images for:
impression in snow from pheasant take-off
In the evening after dinner, we went across the street at the parents’ place to visit friends down for Thanksgiving from Tonasket (4 hours drive). We took along a thawed chocolate crème pie I took from the freezer earlier – and no, it was not made by either me or John.
Saturday, Nov 28
For Nov 27 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 57 min with AHI=2.14 Events: 17 H, 3 CSR. 15 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=17 L/min); no oximeter data.
Sunny and cold. Moisture is starting to freeze on trees, fences, and anything else. This is likely to continue into Tuesday and if so we will have a bounty of Silver Frost. Very pretty landscape but it also means the sky is completely fogged in and the temperature has not gone above freezing for days and there is almost no wind.
Here is an old web page I made two years ago.
Now I’m including it for your viewing pleasure at our new domain site. I’m slowly going through these old ones and correcting any links to our old domain, ellensburg.com/ The only thing we get there any more is email to nancyh@ellensburg.com and we do not have email at the new domain. Only this blog, and our old (or new) web pages.
Nice telephone visit with his sister Peggy in Ohio just 12 miles from the north coast of the USA, where she has warmer temperatures (for now). Just wait!
Sunday, Nov 29
For Nov 28 CPAP. Reported figures. 9 hrs 35 min with AHI=0.63 Events: 6 H, 1 CSR. 14 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=15 L/min); no oximeter data. A very quiet and long night. Either I was quite tired, or got the forced air pressure hose fixed right, or the new pillow worked better for support of the head connector for the hose.
Cold and gray here today, with “patchy freezing fog” and low visibility. We had 13 degrees this morning and now it is all the way up to 21.7. Maybe snow coming on Tuesday.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan