Sunday, July 31
For July 30 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 5 hrs 8 min with AHI=0.00. Events: 0 CSR, 0 H, 7 RERA. No major mask leaks (max= 6 L/min). Oximetry: Okay all night.
Saw John off at 5:40 a.m. for Mount Rainier, and I stayed up to tackle the many chores awaiting me: KV F&F Music, cat feeding, AAC photos, dishes, clothes, shoulder exercises.
This link is the best ever of Ashokan Farewell. The singer was 13 at the time recorded, 3 years ago:
Monday, August 1
For July 31 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 3 hrs 42 min with AHI=0.54. Events: 1 CSR, 2 H, 11 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 6 L/min). Oximetry: nothing special to report.
Early call about getting our hay delivered this week (finally). We are about out of hay.
I have been catching up on music finalities and going tomorrow to copy pages for players and audience.
John is off to have his teeth cleaned and to pick up more frozen food dinners for our neighbors. Mentioned last week: no one is available to cook their meals, while their caregiver son recovers from his heart surgery. Another son is helping except on weekends, when he is working out of town.
We received an email report from Evonne (the Crew Leader) on yesterday’s WTA trip.
In part, here is some of her words of thanks to the crews, particularly to John and his crew.
Thank you so much for joining me on the Owyhigh Lakes Trail yesterday! Yesterday was truly epic – the hike, the work, and the wonderful place where it all happened. Yet, none of it would have been possible without your presence and effort out there. Yesterday took a huge joint effort on everyone’s part to see each task through. You made a real difference with the energy that you poured into the day.
John, as always, it was a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for helping with everything that you did yesterday! From doing a double check at the campground for volunteers to heading up the poles and railing crew, you executed every task. I really appreciate that you come all of the way from Ellensburg to assist with work parties, and I always look forward to working with you.
Shon, Alle, and Kathleen – thank you for searching the forest for poles with John. All of you did a wonderful job of pealing, cutting, and transporting poles for the bridge. Great job! Thank you all for the extra tasks that you completed throughout the day.
I have chosen a few of my favorites but John went through the entire bunch with me explaining the full story of the work accomplished.
Left photo, the new log is being pulled (on rollers) toward the creek.
Right photo, the plan is to skid the new log on top of the old one.
Middle photo, note the blue-shirt fellow working the come-along as others guide the log.
John’s crew went to find downed trees of a size to make posts for the rail. Once found they can be cut to size, trimmed, and pealed. Below (left), the crew included a Nat’l Park member with a chainsaw, here cutting the old structure into pieces that could be moved and hidden well away from the trail.
Crew leader (Blue hat), Evonne Ellis, with her boss, Karen Daubert, who is retiring but came out on a walk at Mt. Rainier as part of the Hike-A-Thon project for WA Trails Association. She and hiking friends and/or WTA Board members arrived in time to hike up the trail with the crew.
This evening we attended the going away dinner (food fixed by the young visitors from Belarus) as part of their 5-week stay with the Children from Chernobyl program.
These were the participants this year, two boys and 4 girls, all teenagers. They lived with host families, and you have already met the girl on the right, Aryna, 16, who stayed with our friends, Helga & Charlie Firkins, and whom we met early in her stay to pick cherries from our trees (look back in a previous blog for that story). The photo on the right above is a shot of part of the table of food the kids prepared for the dinner for us. It was a tasty treat. The desserts were in a different place.
Various bags of items (including medications to take home for family) were given to the kids. Above is a photo of Natasha, their chaperone and surrogate mom for the trip, with Sasha and Aryna on the right. Sasha entertained us with a piece played on the piano during the evening.
Tuesday, Aug 2
For Aug 1 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 5 hrs 7 min with AHI=0.20. Events: 0 CSR, 1 H, 9 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 4 L/min). Oximetry: even and fine all night.
Soaked feet, washed dishes, completed voting ballet, put numbers on music and figured out required numbers of copies, wrote my instructions, and got copy paper.
I had to carry meds along to take at 2:00, in prep for Physical Therapy session and to run copies of the music for August & September for our group who visits assisted-living homes.
I went by Grocery Outlet, the UPS store, returning the wrongly sent Amazon item for turtle feed, and by the Courthouse to deposit our Primary Election ballots.
When I came out of the PT appointment, I almost was blown away and uncomfortably hit by flying spruce tree needles. Checked the airport later when I got home, and at the time I was walking a block to my car, the gusts were 45 mph.
I organized music I had run and sent out job announcements to the Google Groups list serve, NW Geography Jobs (which reaches far beyond the PNW). I am still not through with either, but do not need the music finished until Thursday. I have a few ready for the people I will see tomorrow and will take it by to them at the Food Bank music.
Wednesday, Aug 3
For Aug 2 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 3 hrs 42 min with AHI=1.08. Events: It’s unclear what happened at 2:00 a.m. and system quit working/recording.
This was the morning the group from Ellensburg of all the host families with their “kids” left for their return trip. They had to be at the SeaTac airport by 10:00 and we had been concerned about checking travel alerts for I-90. We learned that 2 of 3 lanes on the Easton hill were closed to west bound traffic, but early this morning, I was on the computer and heard of a horrible tanker truck collision and fire about 8:45 a.m. at milepost 88 a few miles east of Cle Elum. That accident closed all east and westbound lanes because of the spill and toxic fumes of anhydrous ammonia.
The first photo was alarming; John checked KOMONEWS and also used Google Earth’s street view to identify the location, 18.8 miles from our house. I turned on the police scanner (via my computer) to keep up with the story. About 9:30, I called our friend’s cell phone to see if they made it through, and they were all entering the airport. That elicited a huge sigh of relief.
Images above are from the Komonews site in Seattle.
I left to pick up Gloria for our trip to the Food Bank & SAIL exercise afterwards.
Afterwards, on my way home, I took music and a doll to Amy for Haley. The story that follows is hilarious. Below the photo collage, I will explain.
The story starts on the left with a doll advertised as free on the Buy Nothing site group I’m on, from a gal in Kittitas. I spoke for it for a friend’s daughter, who is pictured with it a week later (today in the 2nd picture above). She played with it about 1/2 hour and then gave it a dust bath, as birds do, (3rd above). Her mom retrieved it, scolded her daughter, bathed the doll, and redressed her. It all ended all right, and she brought it to our play gig the next day (after sleeping in bed with the little girl, Haley, all night).
My first thought for the dolly was to add to the gift of goodies for the baby shower last Saturday, but when I saw it was from a Facebook friend of my friend, I decided to give it to her.
Meanwhile, speaking of that container of clothes, it was emptied and I picked it up on my way to town this morning from the high grass at the end of their very long driveway. Raychel sent me photos that were taken at the gift opening and during the party that evening by the grandmother of the baby. Below are those with an explanation.
Top left is the table for gifts at the entrance. The last two things at the right of the table next to the flowers are our gifts – recycled gently used baby things. The Sterolite container holds dresses, pullovers, jackets, pants, T-shirts, wraps, blankets, and a teddy bear. The package on top holds a car seat. Beneath that is a picture of our table where we enjoyed smoked meat and veggies on a skewer with salads, chips, and conversations. The fellow in red is Dr. Lundy, the grandfather of the baby. On the right is the mom, Raychel, going through our box of goodies. Myles, the father, is holding their doggy, modeling one of the baby’s dresses.
Today was a busy day. Once I was home at 4:00, we started receiving the hay from our broker, Mario Giorgianna, with only 1.5 bales left for our horses, so the timing was perfect. He delivered it in two runs, a total of 15 tons. 13.5 of that went into our pole barn, 16 bales into the little red barn, and 14 more onto the truck that John took to an old horse trailer down in the pasture.
In the above collage, on the left is John walking into the Pole Barn with a “hay elevator” sending bales to the top of the stack. To the right shows the front of the stack with John, Nancy, and Mario in their hats for his business: High Valley Hay and Cattle. Mario has been delivering hay for our horses for several years. John used to have to drive across the valley and load hay into our stock trailer and pickup bed (2 tons, max), and then come back and unload it and stack himself. This is far superior to that old way but when we got up to 5 horses it became a necessity.
Thursday, August 4
For Aug 3 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 5 hrs 18 min with AHI=0.57. Events: 1 CSR, 3 H, 18 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 14 L/min). Back to sleep w/o CPAP for 3 hrs, continuing Oximetry: AHI- 0.36, 8h 25m total. Clearly shows about 1/2 hr with SpO2 below 88.
Rehab for music today – many people (14) with a new violinist, who also plays a Viola. Her name is Andrea. She was brought to the group by another group member, Laura. She’s a CWU student we hope will not have too many conflicts with her classes in the fall. When I was teaching, I always worked my class schedule around the hours every Thursday when we needed to play. I started with this group in 1991.
I carried by wine corks from my friend who cuts my hair to give to Meagan Huber at her work to make a nursing necklace for her 5-month old baby.
John drove so he could drop me off and get gasoline in his car for the trip to the PCT* tomorrow, and he went shopping at Super 1. [*Pacific Crest Trail, north from Snoqualmie Pass]
Friday, August 5
For Aug 4 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 3 hrs 1 min with AHI=0.33. Events: 1 CSR, 1 H, 8 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 6 L/min). Kept Oximeter on for longer: Oximetry: from up at 3:00 on to 6:00 with lower than 88 SpO2. SH. AHI-0.16, 6h 13m
About 6:35 a.m., John left. He hadn’t been on I-90 for weeks and did not know how much the construction would delay him. Not much as it turned out, so he was first of the crew to arrive.
I went first for CPAP supplies and got them. That includes new filters, tubing, and a head gear with mask.
I went for a session of PT at to 3:15. Rather painful. I then went for lemon meringue pies at Super 1 and by a BNEE house to pick up two suspense novels for a friend.
Saturday, August 6
For Aug 5 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 6 hrs 42 min with AHI=0.60. Events: 1 CSR, 4 H, 9 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 12 L/min). Oximetry: went off sometime.
We went to town for a grand opening of a new Petsen$e store in town. We bought canned cat food for $.40/can and an ID for Annie’s collar:
We were allowed 4 lines and I chose to put her name with our last name, our road address, zip and phone number, her age and that she is Epileptic, (assuming if found, someone would recognize she might need meds). I just realized Epilepic is misspelled on the last line.
We also got some tops for opened canned food, but they don’t fit as well as the others we have had with a little rim inside, the only difference I can see.
Tonight we met Tanya Myers and family (Andrew, Jessica, & Michael) at the Red Horse Diner (old car theme and the flying red horse of Mobil Oil). The old station and garage is still standing with the gasoline pump (price $0.229/gallon).
History lesson
We had a large dinner and a fun time. I brought half mine home for lunch tomorrow. John had a fancy hamburger with home fries, and I had sandwich named: Tri-Power – roast beef, with sautéed green pepper, onions, mushrooms, and Swiss cheese, au jus (very watery gravy), served with sweet potato fries. I almost bought the Desoto one, remembering the old 1950 Desoto my family had.
Sunday, August 7
For Aug 6 CPAP. Reported figures. Time on 8 hrs 9 min with AHI=0.12. Events: 0 CSR, 1 H, 12 RERA. No mask leaks (max= 12 L/min). Long quiet night. Annie asked to go out at 4:15, but I went right back to sleep. I had a good night. Oximetry: AOK.
This morning I told John I took some photos of the yellow plum tree earlier this week, but the lighting was wrong and the pictures did not come out well. He took some with morning sun. Here is a cheerful collage I made from those he took.
The only plums I saw were on ONE tree that is full of yellow plums, Shiro, but he found one fully colored but not ripe of a variety called Bubblegum, the reddish bronze one. That tree has only about a dozen. A third tree has a dozen – still green. This started my day off right. We will eat some yellow ones with supper tonight.
I have worked on various projects all day, including this blog, and John has done yard work. We had leftovers for lunch from my dinner last night.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan