… and muddied by too much rain this week. Mountains got snow high, rain low, and there was much weeping and gnashing, except on the ski slopes. On the dry-side, we got rain.
Sunday, Dec 6
For Dec 5 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 3 min with AHI=0.85 Events: 6 H, 5 CSR. 20 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=19 L/min); oximeter on an extra 2 hrs. with good activity the whole time, high SpO2 without CPAP on.
Crazy night of nightmares. I explained them to John but I would not venture to share elsewhere or they might commit me. Used my older nasal pillow mask last night. (bottom tube connection).
We got ready and left just at noon for the Grange (good roads; 35 minutes), with our apple squares of cake in our cardboard shallow box, parchment paper lining. Wonderful meal and entertainment afterwards. One of the youngest dancers, Anna, 4 years old, is the daughter of two of my former students.
2015 Grange Community Christmas Dinner
Entertainment by Older Dancers
Entertainment by 5 Middle-sized Dancers
Helen and Anna before the program, and a cropped one from a video on stage, prior to starting. Check the video below for the dance selection and look for Anna. Her dad was not at the performance, but he was also my student.
Entertainment by 6 Smallest Dancers
Another of Different Older Dancers
I finished the photos of the Christmas Potluck for the Adult Activity Center, and sent 3 emails off tonight ~ 11:30 p.m. They were pleased to have them to sort into the ones they took on their camera.
Monday, Dec 7
For Dec 6 CPAP. I screwed up and did not insert the SD card so the CPAP ran all night, but I have no Reported figures; however, my oximeter was on the whole time of sleep (close to 9 hrs), and I had a well-deserved restful night’s sleep with that oximetry data available.
Open the gate from 9:45 to 1:45 for UPS driver entry. Package arrived an hour later than planned. Fortunately, John has most of the escape routes closed, so the gate at the end of the driveway is not as crucial as before.
We stayed home and worked on projects and watched and listened to the rain. It was constant emptying of buckets (on trees) for John in front and back of the house. No rain gutters – we can get icicles that weigh 50 pounds – something about our location. It happens about once every 10 years so we’ve never done anything about either problem.
Tuesday, Dec 8
For Dec 7 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 21 min with AHI=1.42 Events: 9 H, 3 CSR, 17 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=17 L/min); oximeter on an extra 2 hrs. with good activity the whole time, high SpO2 without CPAP on.
Today was a full day. Started with us both leaving the house at 8:30 a.m. for Hearthstone and the Emeriti Geographers meeting. We carried along an apple cake for people to have with their coffee, tea, or hot chocolate. Today’s guest speaker was Nancy Lillquist, who has been a city council member since 2003. She shared some interesting information about the city. Our mailing address is in Ellensburg, but we live in the county and cannot vote on Ellensburg council, mayor, etc.
John and I went to two stores shopping on the way home, and he fixed us a sandwich, before I turned around and left for town again.
During Jazzercise today at 2:00, I created a report for the leader of the class for our March 3, 2015 session, and for two sessions this December 1 and December 8, while using my oximeter for the 45 minutes. I just finished printing the results and review with images to give her tomorrow when I’m back in for my other exercise (SAIL) class, which is a lot less aerobic.
Back home to do a few things and then in a pouring rain I drove through patchy foggy spots, clear spots, and admired some fantastic rural Christmas lights. I went to play and sing Christmas music at the same place I was this morning. There was a glitch. Our normal 1 hour performance was cut in half by a choir singing barbershop music, starting at 7:00 p.m. We have regularly had the 6:30-7:30 period for over 10 years on the second Tuesday night of the month. Someone screwed up. It angered me to spend more time traveling in bad weather than we performed. Oh, well, several residents were very happy we came and played, even for the shorter time.
I came home to a dinner of butternut squash, fried potatoes, and tender chicken breast. John always cooks enough for the next day but usually makes additions so it doesn’t seem so much like a leftover.
Wednesday, Dec 9
For Dec 8 CPAP. Reported figures. 8 hrs 22 min with AHI=1.08 Events: 8 H, 7 CSR, 17 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=16 L/min); oximeter on an extra 1.5 hrs with AHI=.90 and good activity the whole time, high SpO2 without CPAP on. Finger changes sent the pulse and SpO2 readings lower a couple times.
I thought I might have to lead the music alone today at the Food Bank. My cohort on the banjo had car problems Tuesday afternoon, and was concerned, warning me last night, she might not make it today. She got her car fixed (phew), and will be there after all. Good news in morning email.
I managed to charge up John’s new cell phone and make a call from town. I also took several pictures on it, which I’ll have to remove when I get the cord.
Evelyn (banjo) made it along with Kyle (Ukulele), Bob (Guitar), and 2 singers. We had a good time and everyone appreciated our being there. I picked up some bread for us and some large cornbread muffins for our neighbors.
I didn’t get a great picture of all of us, but thought I would get Evelyn and me in a photo for the season.
Normally, she has a pair of fingerless blue gloves on too, but this was before we started playing. We’re quite the team. Guess we’re having a Blue Christmas (one of the songs we sing everywhere in December). When I was growing up we had 4 sets of 8 candles that went in each of the front windows of our 5-room house. All the lights were blue, so that brings back nice memories.
I went from there to the Adult Activity Center and wore my oximeter while I did the SAIL exercise class today. My intention is to compare with yesterday’s Jazzercise. I will put both below, for the comparison.
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This is the Jazzercise class from Tuesday, we started slowly about 2:03 and were interrupted at 2:11 by a fellow who took away our instructor for the next 10 minutes. Evelyn and I were the only ones in class so we kept exercising (dancing) for the time our teacher was gone. If you look at the blue line, you’ll see the pulse change when Katrina returned. You can also see that we started getting tired and slowed down a bit and stopped for a water break. Then after 2:22, the pulse rate starts climbing. Pulse is the blue line. The green line is the SpO2 (blood oxygen saturation percentage); the whole reason I bought my oximeter, to check my SpO2 while I sleep. CPAP machines do not record that parameter, and it’s the prime reason I’m on the machine. I don’t have apnea episodes.
This is Wednesday afternoon’s SAIL exercise class, a lot less aerobic than the Jazzercise. It is combined stretching, walking, balance, and strengthening of the upper body, the core, and the lower muscle groups.
Got a few sweet things from the activity center that were made for them/us by a 4H (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health) group. I bought a couple home to share with John.
John planned to start the wood stove today while I was away to burn off the paint smell. Actually, the weather was so nice and sunny that he did a bunch of outside chores with hay, horses, brush, & trucks. I need to clean up more of the boxes on the floor in front of it too, but I also need to load the dishwasher.
I did come home and take the oximetry data off my unit and produce a comparison to send to the AAC director who leads the Jazzercise and is there for the SAIL classes, although it is usually directed by the two AmeriCorps volunteers.
I finished the comparison of SAIL to Jazzercise late, and sent all the reports to Katrina. I did not include all the data here.
Thursday, Dec 10
For Dec 9 CPAP. Reported figures. 4 hrs 47 min with AHI=1.05 Events: 5 H, 1 CSR, 7 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=13 L/min); oximeter on an extra 4 hrs. with AHI=.58 and good activity the whole time on SpO2 without CPAP on.
We attended Meadows Place, today. We had 8 people providing music and about 12 in the audience. The activities director provided homemade Norwegian Rosettes (deep friend in an iron type holder). Sprinkled with powdered sugar. She gave me 6 to bring home to share with John because I didn’t want to stay to eat there. I was busy trying to leave to deliver some egg cartons and pick up some eggs from a friend. Before I could leave I gave my old friend (roommate when I was 7 weeks in the Rehab in 2010), a ride in her wheelchair to her room. Her name is Mae. Sadly, she no longer can walk on her own, and for other things also needs a lot of help. But 5 years ago she was my inspiration to get back on my feet.
Friday, Dec 11
For Dec 10 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 53 min with AHI=1.02 Events: 7 H, 0 CSR, 22 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=21 L/min); oximeter on an extra 3 hrs. with AHI=.73 and good activity the whole time, high SpO2 without CPAP on. Used top tube nasal pillow mask.
Not sure where the time went today. Both of us went out to feed the horses, and I took along John’s new phone to check out there, and it worked. Maybe it will work as a better connection when he is in the yard working. The old, missing one, could not get a connection in the house and only about half the time out in the open. Also took a few pictures of the new fencing. {Click and open in a new tab.}
Three parts to the collage above. Left to right, Breeze behind a pallet wanting an apple. John walking in front of a pallet fence between the pole barn and the old barn, and small panel on the right shows the new driveway with a new gate, and snow on the hills in the distance. A better fence was intended but Giardia intervened. The fencing was necessary to allow the horses access to their heated water trough to the right of the old barn. During the rest of the year they drink from the stream through the center of the pasture. It freezes in winter.
John worked outside most of the day moving 15 bales of hay from the shed into an old horse trailer in another location. He also moved some fire wood rounds (not yet split) into dry locations. That’s catch-up work that did not get done when he was sick. The house is electric, with a heat pump and resistor heating, if needed. We have enough wood ready for an emergency but not enough for use throughout the winter on a daily basis.
I have worked on emails of various sorts, not the least of which is our notice to people about our change of domain, and the new place we will have our web pages – and the link, once the annual greetings for 2015 are published. If you did not receive that email and you are seeing this, please jot me a note with your desired email address for us to use. As soon as I finish this week’s blog, I will send it out.
I have had trouble getting my data off my oximeter into my CPAP coordination of data. Hoping now the third time is a charm. I restarted both programs. Okay, thankfully, it worked.
Saturday, Dec 12
For Dec 11 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 10min with AHI=2.92 Events: 18 H, 3 CSR, 19 RERA. No major mask leaks (max=21 L/min); oximeter on an extra 2.5 hrs. with AHI=2.10, seemingly ok activity the whole time, high SpO2 without CPAP on. It was a higher reading with the top-connect mask, so I will switch back tonight; not sure the cause, but imagine it is with the compressed air tubing’s positioning. I think I need a connector from above and behind my head, to remove the weight.
John writing: (Nancy is frustratingly on the phone with the cell-phone company) The National Weather Service thought we could get snow this morning – it came about 1:00 P.M. The temperature near the ground is 37° so while the ground is now white it will likely melt. In the higher elevations (3,000 ft. and up) there is serious snow and the temp is at or below freezing. The major passes will get a foot or so by Sunday evening. We were advised about 2 months ago not to expect much precipitation in Nov & Dec but it seems just the opposite. And we’re paying these folks! The Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere above are interacting in complex ways that haven’t yet been understood let alone coded into computers. The models (yes, plural) they run will often disagree and then the human has to guess which of them likely got it right. The big thing now is the so called “super monster” or “Godzilla” El Niño. You can look it up. It is not doing what they think it should or where it should. Anyone can guess and you don’t need a degree in meteorology to do so. Take a guess for your location. I’m going to get this into WordPress and then think about supper. Cheers.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan