Monday, Oct 31 Happy Halloween!
For Oct 30 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.71. Events: 1 CSR, 4 H, 9 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 37 min with (max = 16 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 two blips to low 85, 9 < 88 with avg., 91.0%.
Yesterday, we posted our weekly blog in the evening.
I am planning on staying home another two days to recuperate. Yesterday, I began a new cold symptom I have not had for the past 19 days – runny nose and sneezing. I am ready to be done with this. I will skip Jazzercise tomorrow, again, but pickup with SAIL exercise at the AAC on Wednesday afternoon.
I thought I had only 5 pages to go in the final chapter of the thesis review when I went to bed last night. Found out this morning, I have 31 more pages I missed from part 6 of Chapter 8. Today, I finished the last chapter and have reviewing the part I missed. I hope to finish it today!
We put in a call to Spokane today for Culligan to service and replace our under-kitchen-sink water filters next Monday. Service is coming from Yakima. We will hear the timing this Friday via telephone to plan arrival for Monday. It will be between 10:00 a.m. and noon.
I stopped for a not completely nutritious lunch, but I am continuing my fluid intake. I drank a can of apple juice that has been waiting for me for months in the fridge, and continued with the yogurt and Ensure. Also threw in a couple Almond Roca pieces.
I went to the car to check on some things, enjoying the sun – first time in several days. I’m happy for all the night’s trick or treaters not to have to deal with rain as we have been having. No one comes to our house; it’s dark and spooky. It is better to go to town to all the planned (or unplanned) events. I learned of a few good places to share with my friend and her 3.5 yr. old daughter.
I have been alternately working on music for this week, and on the last pages of the thesis review. Finally, I finished just before 6:00 p.m. Things have been mixed in with calling the bank, dealing with music for the group this week, and now just fed all cats for the night. Also, I managed to wash one filter and replace the paper filter on a machine next to my bed – long overdue.
Today was a special Brittany day. We got a report from Jeri Conklin, my co-owner of our young Brittany, Cedaridge Kip’s Camelot Shay Tre’ JH (call name, Daisy) about her run in a CA field trial over the weekend, in an Open Gun Dog event. Jeri handled her. She had a nice forward run and a point, but unfortunately, it was a non-productive. Jeri searched and searched the bushes and could not locate the bird.
Daisy wants those birds – here in that trial, with ears flying and all four feet off the ground.
Then the point and search:
On the same day, another Brittany occurrence happened to take us back to the past, with our ownership of FC Simons Ruff-Shod O’Dee. He was the dog we bred to our DC/AFC/CC Sirius Sashay, the best cross we ever did, that resulted in several dual champions, and many single champions.
I received an unexpected phone call from the original owner of that dog we didn’t bring home to live with us in Idaho, until he was 9 years old. We had been breeding to him and running him for Dan Richmond in Amateur events. I tried diligently to find the owner, but never succeeded. (That was likely 30 years ago.) The phone call came from Texas, from David A. Simons, who found our Cedaridge Kennel on line with the email and phone number since we have been in WA. He was looking for a dog descended from that dog for a hunting buddy in Arizona. We talked for almost 45 minutes. He was a youngster when he bought Ruff for his hunting dog at 8 weeks. We are enjoying reminiscing on line about a great dog, sharing stories from his early life with David and his later life with us. Ruff/Ruffy had a long life for a Brittany – 16.5 years.
David with Ruff, getting his Derby points, (a dog cannot be over 2 years to run derby stakes). Right, Dan Richmond and me with Ruffy, 1984, when he won the Open All Age at the Washington Brittany club field trial. (Right photo taken by Jeff Sandman, given to the owner in the plaque with the placement engraved at the bottom of the frame.) The trophy was revolving and had to be returned to the club for the next year’s use, and we had to engrave his name on the trophy.
Tuesday, Nov 1
For Oct 31 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.25. Events: 1 H, 6 RERA. Time on 3 hrs 37 min with (max = 13 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 88, NONE below 88 with avg., 92.0%. Short, but sweet.
I set up Thursday and Friday’s music play dates. Nine came to play Thursday and nine different ones made it on Friday.
Three deer came in the front gate for Mt. Ash berry dinner, then went out, and lay down next to John’s car. We guess they are staying away from the hunters in the hills.
Yes, a couple of the does have learned to step up on things near the base of the tree to gain height to reach the berries. The lower branches they can reach by standing on their back legs. Last year, they used a blue plastic bin.
With tummies full (?), the deer lay down to rest, just outside the fence.
I continued working on cleaning the den for the furnace (heat pump) maintenance person to come tomorrow morning.
Tonight to Cle Elum and dinner at the Cottage Cafe. We are meeting friends from Ellensburg on their way back from their cabin on South Cle Elum Ridge. The Cafe sends gift-letters for our birthdays and wedding anniversary. Instead of costing us $20 per meal, it’s $10. We bring enough home for the next day. While waiting, I saw a BB World Series grand slam.
Wednesday, Nov 2
For Nov 1 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 3 RERA. Time on 2 hrs 7 min with (max = 12 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 several spurious blips from moving off finger, only 7 hits below 85 with overall avg. 91.0% (surely affected by the spurious ones).
Darren Allen arrived from Brad & Burke (B&B) about 9:30. He has worked on Trane heat pump units for 20 years, or at least for B&B, who is a Lennox dealer. He really seemed to know what he was doing, and we both felt comfortable with him.
He inserted a new (additional) 24″ x20″ filter and left a back-up, because of the serious dust problem we have in our house. We need to check each month, and maybe more often at first to see how it responds. The slot has been there all along but no one ever mentioned it nor provided a filter. We’ll check on line to get a price for a box of filters.
I left just after he did to pick up my friend Gloria to attend music and lunch at the food bank, get gasoline in my car, and go to SAIL exercise at the AAC afterwards.
Thursday, Nov 3
For Nov 2 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.26. Events: 1 H, 7 RERA. Time on 3 hrs 52 min with (max = 8 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2, 2 dips to 88 on CPAP, only a few to 89 off CPAP for 2.5 hrs, with overall avg., 92.1% (a spurious low of 84).
I went to the hospital for an INR before music, and had a very strange occurrence. I have written it up and tomorrow will submit a “care and service report” to the quality assurance folks at the local hospital. The phlebotomist (new one to me) performed the wrong type of draw and had to repeat it to get it right. I was not happy, and realized she was doing it wrongly. I asked her to redo it as it always is done and to send the results to my lab in Cle Elum. On my way out the building, I stopped at the front desk to speak with the front desk receptionist, a person who knows me by name and has since 2009, when I became a regular in the hospital, going to the lab and to the outpatient services, in addition to being a patient. She listened intently and gave me the appropriate form to complete and return. I was grateful. I have written the report, and will deliver it to the front desk tomorrow, on my way back from playing patriotic music.
My INR was low again (1.8) and in the afternoon I talked to my Coumadin Clinic advisory nurse, so we could adjusted the dosage. I will have it retested in Cle Elum, when we go up for our annual physicals mid November – nurse and lab first, then a week later we see the doctor. He’s retiring at the end of the year. John has had visits with a Nurse Practitioner and a Physician’s Assistant, but we do not have a new M.D. – yet.
I went to play music at the Rehab at 1:45, where we had a full house, but we did well.
I came home to work on the Star Spangled Banner to have the front row (fiddlers, accordion, and flute) lead off the group Acapella tomorrow at the AAC on the National Anthem. We are scheduled to have 90 participants there. I have to take audience copies of the lyrics as well. Photos will appear later, when the photographer who was there publishes them.
Friday, Nov 4
For Nov 3 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.22. Events: 1 H, 7 RERA. Time on 4 hrs 34 min with (max = 16 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 89, all above 88 with overall avg., 92.6%.
Today was Veterans’ Day music at the AAC, offered by the Kittitas Valley Fiddlers & Friends group. We had 9 players and played 12 songs (patriotic and USA songs), plus the National Anthem without instruments at the end. We played for 1/2 hour, following the honor guard and the audience pledge to allegiance. I dressed in my sequined flag vest, and the group had various combinations of red, white, and blue clothing.
The Senior Center personnel fed us at our own table after we played, and continued with the program for the veterans present, honoring them and bringing each branch of the military forward to receive an honor and to tell the audience what their job was and where they served. Two of our music players are veterans, and one of those served in 2 branches. Our lunch was excellent. We had meat loaf with sides of various casseroles (our table had servings of a rice casserole, a SW cornbread one with a sauce of beans, corn, & tomatoes, and a serving of peas and carrots. We were presented with a soup bowl of mixed green salad and a platter of several different dessert choices. I had a little piece of 3 different ones.
I took my paperwork to the hospital on my way home, as planned.
I was not home long before we changed clothes and got into my car to make the drive to Seattle. We left at 2:30 and got there with traffic slowdowns starting near the 405 cut off on I-90. John was my navigator and I was the driver both ways. It took just over 2 hours. The thinking about driving in Seattle was worse than the doing but we only had to travel several blocks non-interstate.
We were attending the WTA Volunteer Appreciation Event in Seattle at REI, …
… which was set to begin at 6:00 p.m. with nice appetizers, fruit drinks, beer, and wine. Fortunately, we had our parking sticker validated, and saved the $15.00 fee. We visited with a few folks, grabbed our name tags, walked around REI some, and then went back for a seat on the front row to watch the slide show and see the program (which was full of reports and awards) – John didn’t win any this year, except a pass through November 2017 to a National Park. We already have one for all National Parks, that I bought for $10 at Mt. Rainier, years ago. We were offered free WTA “trail crew” T-Shirts. I got a couple for my exercise classes (red & gray). They are men’s size. I hope the red XL fits me; also, I got a L (gray). The prettiest colors (chartreuse and blue were women’s sizes but way too small for me). John doesn’t wear short-sleeved shirts except under long-sleeved shirts. These are made of plastic and so don’t get and stay wet. Hikers like them. See this:
From those that do long trail hikes in sections
Food provided was spicy-seasoned shrimp, 2 to a skewer, grilled (John said pickled) veggies, mushrooms, 2 different dips, crackers, twice-baked potato bits (little red ones), Swedish meat balls, and I thought chicken but John thought fried pork pieces (cold). I didn’t like that offering. The rest of the presentation food was warm. Wine and beer was from local folks, although the wine grapes were from east of the Cascades – like us.
We dressed in shirts (Nancy in black and John in Orange – for his orange hardhat assistant crew leader color), with patches honoring the 50th anniversary of WTA. We got many comments from folks there. A friend, Evonne, (a blue hat crew leader) took our photo on her camera, and will get it to us in a month, probably. She is busy still working and studying sustainability as a graduate student at an Oregon University. Perhaps if it comes out all right, we’ll put in the blog then. I did not take my camera to the party.
John made a small picture of the two shirt pockets with their patches:
John had ironed the patches on the shirts earlier in the week. We are protecting them to wear only on special occasions, so they don’t have to go through the washing machine and chance losing the patch, or messing it up.
Saturday, Nov 5
For Nov 4 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 17 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 54 min with (max = 18 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 80 (off CPAP), quite a few below 88 (off CPAP) with an overall avg., 92.1%.
John worked outside some but it began to sprinkle. So he came in and worked on lunch. I worked on in-house chores after sleeping in to recover from yesterday’s activities.
Tomorrow we are going on a neat geology field trip, hosted by Nick Zentner, CWU Geology, for the IAF’s local chapter. Here are the specs: 10:00 am – 5:30 pm (Daylight Savings Time clock change!). Carpool from CWU’s Hebeler Hall.
Old Columbia River Field Trip
Did the Columbia River really used to flow through Sunnyside?
How do we know that? What’s the field evidence?
Why did the Columbia River keep changing its course through time?
Prior to 17 million years ago the main drainage came south from the Spokane area (green color). After many lava flows, the river was pushed up against the mountains toward the west (red color).
Basalt province of NW USA
Major flows are subdivided into “members” as discussed in the link given and shown in the maps (incomplete) below. Ellensburg is off the upper-left corner and the details for the area are not shown.
For the trip, the weather is supposed to be sunny and a bit cool, unlike today’s rain.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan