….. here – not yet.
Sunday, Nov 13
For Nov 12 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.83. Events: 4 H, 5 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 28 min with (max = 13 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 81, 24 below 88 (all off CPAP) with avg., 91.1%. Total time almost 9 hrs.
John used his patio-door carrier creation to move a couple of large rocks without lifting into the truck. Using a ¾ inch piece of plywood as a ramp worked like a charm. The wheels are heavy duty plastic from a kiddy-car acquired many years ago at a yard sale.
John with the re-purposed carrier. This rock went from back to front and will be part of a landscaping wall.
The next collage will be explained below it.
Left shows the rock with John’s work glove alongside for scale. The right photo is of a bed between the patio and our TRANE heat pump. The space used to house 3-4 Nanking cherry trees which were pretty and provided small red fruits for birds. Rascal-cat would occasionally get to the roof of the house via these trees.
The area will be covered with gravel and a small firewood shelter that now sits on the patio. The photo shows dirt and rocks being removed – the rocks will go back and then gravel on top. The dirt will follow the big rock to the front.
While we are on yard things, I will use this space to update you on our Veterans’ Day walk around the place 2 days ago, which I didn’t have room for in last week’s blog.
We started our walk with John showing me the bulbs & tubers for 3 plants he is digging up, separating, and saving two of out of the cold ground for winter protection.
First, the separation of the Iris we got from our friend, Celia.
This is a handful of Iris John showed me and then separated and replanted. After a few years the rhizomes, just below or on the soil surface, fill in so much they become like a very thick heavy carpet. Large sections can be lifted or peeled up. Behind him on the hill are the gladioli corms that he will protect in the garage over winter, and you can see below (right) the dahlia tubers.
Left are the glads with many pea-sized youngsters, and right is a dahlia. A couple of years ago John did not dig up the dahlias – two types and both pretty. This year only one of the 2 types was nice. John is trying to save that one, and will also find a few new ones. We hope this year will be more successful. Many of our friends and others at celebrations where we shared, enjoyed both this year, presented in beautiful bouquets. It replaced the normal garden veggies we were light on in 2016. But, we made up for some things when the cherries came and later we picked Honeycrisp and Gala apples across the valley at our friends’ orchard.
We traveled around the property for stories of John’s changes I had not seen for over a month. Here is a short version in two collages.
Out around the Iris garden to see new fencing for the horses. Then on the right is the new entrance to the pole barn, where John has made room for both trucks under cover in front of the hay. Below, the left photo (#1) shows poles and gate in the fence he set up temporarily last year – and never completed.
Number 2, middle, is a large dead tree leaning toward the camera. On the upper left of the tree is a broken part where a limb came off – now cut into firewood rounds but not yet split. These old Cottonwoods and Poplars drop lots of dead wood and then other things grow up through (rose bushes and Hawthorns, for example) such that the tangle is impenetrable.
Photo #3, top right, shows a fence that was in that area that has been uncovered and a thin pole hung along the top wire. All the dead stuff, vines and small plants have been removed on both sides. About 8 years ago a small deer died in this spot. John assumes it got caught, but that is not certain. Regardless, the passage is now easier and visually clearer. The bottom right is a view of our neighbor’s awesome red maple tree, about 100 feet from our fence line. We hope to get cuttings next spring but will also try seeds. We invited ourselves over to do that but haven’t gone yet.
I returned to reviewing the thesis, for tomorrow’s defense. I expect to awake to a completed PowerPoint for the defense to review in the morning.
Monday, Nov 14
For Nov 13 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 0 H, 1 PP, 9 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 46 min with (max = 16 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 minimum to 88, with avg., 91.4%.
I awoke at 5:30 a.m., and checked my computer. At 2:00 a.m., my student sent a humongous slide show of 160 slides. There is no way she could show those in 35-40 minutes. I made suggestions of where to cut and went back to bed.
I awoke a couple hours later and received a “shortened” version, but it still had 160 slides. She had plans to flip to certain slides by number.
This time I made a new slide show for her with 71 slides of which the last 4 could be eliminated. I put it on a jump drive and planned to get there early, give it to her before her presentation, and go through it with her.
I called and paid our invoiced bill at Brad & Burke for their heat-pump “tune-up” mentioned last week. It is the Trane Heat Pump, which provides electric heat in the winter months and a/c in the summer. We were charged for 2 hours of time, mostly cleaning plus a paper filter (20x24x1) for an empty slot we did not know was there. We hope to find a carton of those someplace. John cleaned the two electrostatic filters – washed one at a time in the in the top of the dishwasher.
I went by Bi-Mart to get a large desktop calendar for 2017 that we hang annually on the kitchen wall to keep us aware of all our activities. While there, I picked up more of two kinds of cough drops.
I also took time this morning to put in all my meds into a daily case for morning and evening. For those running low, I called in for refills.
Okay, the defense is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and I left to get there with plenty of time to share my version of her PowerPoint.
I was going through it with her when her main adviser (aka Committe Chair) approached and said her planned PowerPoint was too long. I told her what I had done, and the chair suggested she use the smaller version. She had it on her computer, but she chose not to use it. At 45 minutes, she was cut off and changed to answering questions from the audience. She had made it through 80 slides by flipping the last 10 one after another with no comments for most. The introduction was adequate to demonstrate the research time spent. The question/answer part went well, and then the audience was dismissed for the committee’s interrogation. The results were successful, but now the pressure is on to get the large word document in shape within two weeks. For a 250+ paged thesis, this will be a challenge.
From there, eight of us went to late lunch/early dinner at El Caporal at 3:00 – 4:20 p.m. It was a nice celebration and I brought home part of my meal for the next day.
Tuesday, Nov 15
For Nov 14 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.13. Events: 1 H, 1 PP, 18 RERA. Time on 8 hrs 6 min with (max = 10 L/min). Good night. Oximetry: SpO2 minimum 88, with avg., 92.1%, avg. pulse 58.5, low 52.
We both went together to our second part of the annual physical today with Dr. Paul Schmitt. It poured rain just before we left, but no more for a good trip up. I drove to Cle Elum and we arrived at 9:15 a.m.
We did a good visit together. First, we went over my blood test results, and he checked me. All is well. John was next, and Dr. Schmitt had planned last week to evaluate John’s inguinal hernia. Luckily, it was “out” so there was something to actually touch and manipulate, where in two previous visits with P. A.s, it could not be “seen.” Our doctor explained what he thought it was and that he would start a referral process that day to have Dr. Harris get him on the docket as soon as possible. First, we have to have him review it. That happened sooner than expected (see Friday below). Dr. Schmitt also noted that John’s blood pressure has increased over the past few years, and he wanted him to start on a low dose of Lisinopril. We made an appointment for John to see him again in a month, after taking the medication and monitoring BP.
I have driven my Subaru Forester for 3 years, and never had a problem with opening the door, but today, I pulled it too hard, hit my head; John was already in the passenger seat and heard the thump. It put a large knot on my head and was hurting, so John drove us home.
I changed clothes and went back to town for Jazzercise, although having gone without exercise for several weeks and with the bruised bump on my head, I only participated in half the routines.
I drove by the Conoco station south of the freeway for these pictured below.
This hardly used set of Merrill shoes were gifted from a friend (Ann Draper) in our old “Buy Nothing Ellensburg” (BNE) Facebook group. She was the one who donated the lovely Native American poster (1989) I gave to my Yakama band friend, Allen Aronica, and you saw written up here back in July with our picture of my presenting it to him, alongside a photo of him in his native Head Dress. The old BNE group subdivided into 3 groups, and now I am away from most of my old friends, who now belong to the North and South Ellensburg groups. Many have switched to a new group, Free Givers of Kittitas County, and that is where these shoes came from. I will now put my efforts into that group.
John was doing his normal surfing and came up with this I am sharing with you. Check this Super Moon Rising from Dr. Roy Spencer in Huntsville, AL. Roy is known for temperature readings of the atmosphere using satellites. He likes to do time-lapse videos. A couple of years ago he did “frost flowers.” Frost Flowers
Here is Mr. Moon: Super Moon Rising
Wednesday, Nov 16
For Nov 15 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 0 H, 11 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 27 min with (max = 8 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to spurious low 71, with no events below 88 and avg., 92.0%. Two blips predictably caused by changing oximeter to a different finger. Avg. pulse (bpm) 60.2, low 50. My defibrillator is set to increase it when it hits 50.
The 2016 Thanks to the WTA Volunteers; 2 minutes.
Some of the WTA folks and things they do
Now we received our picture from that WTA Appreciation Dinner, Nov 4, where Evonne Ellis took our picture.
Thursday, Nov 17
For Nov 16 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.31. Events: 2 H, 11 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 33 min with (max = 13 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 87, 1 event below 88 with avg., 92.4%. Pulse 61.5, low 56.
I think I will start today with something from John regarding his newly acquired mediation (his only prescription-needed pill). All he usually takes is OTC Acetaminophen and Naproxen sodium.
John says: I’ve been doing a bit of reading trying to figure out why my primary care physician wants me to ingest something akin to snake venom. It helps to start with this word: angiotensin
This is a complicated chemical in the body and the 2 parts of the name are:
angio ← meaning vessel or arteries and veins that carry blood
tensin ← meaning tension or tightening
So this thing causes a tightening of blood vessels and raises blood pressure.
See if you can make it through this (no fair if you are a trained medical person):
Angiotensin is a peptide hormone that causes vasoconstriction and a subsequent increase in blood pressure.
Angiotensin I is converted to angiotensin II (AII) through removal of two C-terminal residues by the enzyme angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), primarily through ACE within the lung.
Bradykinin is an inflammatory mediator. It is a peptide that causes blood vessels to dilate (enlarge), and therefore causes blood pressure to fall.
In 1970, using bradykinin potentiating factor (BPF) provided by Sergio Ferreira, Ng and Vane found the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II was inhibited during its passage through the pulmonary circulation. BPF was later found to be a peptide in the venom of a lancehead viper (Bothrops jararaca).
This lovely snake is found in southeast South America to the right of the aqua-colored line in the map below. The photo of the Jararaca is by Felipe Süssekind:
Original and more here
So, the “Jararaca” injects venom into a mammal and the blood pressure drops and the animal dies, but not before a number of other nasty things happen, including but not limited to “immediate burning pain, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, sweating, headache, massive swelling of the bitten extremity, …” – it is a long list.
Okay, chemists have altered the concoction so it is supposed to do only one thing in a very controlled way.
Let’s hope. John
Nancy is back now:
My music group friends all met at Pacifica Senior Living @ Ellensburg, and they had the chairs set up and tables moved. We had a good audience and a good play set. I had to hit the road soon to get home to take care of some things before we took off for the Audubon Society local chapter meeting. The topic was about 2 trips (2013 and 2016) on rafts down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. The speaker is a WA Fish & Wildlife person. One was a private 3-week trip on the river. One was a scientific data gathering trip shocking fish at night and other catch methods, and going through rapids in darkness. It was fascinating. We had called ahead and stopped after the program to pick up our dinner, a 3-meat pizza from Dominoes.
Friday, Nov 18
For Nov 17 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 10 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 35 min with (max = 12 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 one blip to low 86, with avg., 92.0%. Pulse 59.9, low 53.
I received a surprise call from the scheduler for the surgeon our PCP set up on Tuesday for John’s visit to the internal surgeon, Dr. Kenneth Harris, for fixing his hernia. The earliest was today, which I first refused, and put off until later, because I knew John had to continue with the chipping crew explained below. However, he came in for his camera, and heard what had happened and said he would be free earlier than expected because the crew had to leave at 1:00 to return the chipper to Cle Elum for maintenance. I immediately called back, and we were able to get an appointment this afternoon!
John began the 8:30 a.m. meeting with the Chipper Crew of four and Lance, the supervisor from the Kittitas County Conservation District (KCCD), for discussing the work on our property. John signed a contract (at no cost to us) for all the preliminary brushing and other work completed by John and others (bulldozing a new access drive to our house where a large fire-fighting rig can access and turn around). Today, with Monday, Tuesday next week, will consist of this year’s fire-wise cleanup efforts on our property. Today was chipping brush piles John has created over the past several years of clearing, and adding adjacent brush or thinning trees, where appropriate. We keep the fallen timber. All the chips will be redistributed on our property; hence, the photo below shows the crew at work, blowing chips into the back of our old Chevy farm truck to be moved and deposited around our place. The first pile created will be near the newer garden so John can make pathways through it.
The two people on the left are pulling brush from one of the piles near our driveway entrance and the middle fellow is putting the pieces into the shredder. The fellow on the right has a chainsaw (a Stihl, similar to John’s) and he is taking out chokecherries.
I drove by and said thank you as I left for my couple of hours in town. I had met them earlier when they arrived, but I did not take the trip around the property because I had previously done that (and it is written in our blog) a month ago with two folks, Lance and Rose, from the KCCD.
My first stop was at the hospital because the temperature was 33°, and I could not leave my violin in the car for over an hour. I am loaning my 3/4 size violin (I started with in the 4th grade), to the daughter of my drawer-of-blood (phlebotomist) friend I have known for 7 years. Her daughter’s teacher told her she would have to get a smaller violin than the full size one she had, which belonged to her grandfather. She claimed it would cause the little girl to acquire carpal tunnel syndrome. When I heard that, I offered mine.
Our scholarship luncheon this time met at the CWU Alumni office on Main St. across from my bank. I thought I might have to park in the bank’s parking lot, but I found a space on the street.
After lunch (pizza, pasta salad, and green salad) and some little sweets, I went by Hospice Friends for some supplies and to give a donation for the Tree of Life, which accepts donations in memory of others who have passed. [Someone was soliciting for the Food Bank at Grocery Outlet and John bought them large boxes of pancake/biscuit mix. Then we went by the Food Bank and picked up a loaf of date-expired Rosemary/Olive bread.] At Hospice Friends, the donations go toward the benefit of those in town still needing medical services, supplies, medical equipment, in home care, and grief counseling. Also with advanced notice, Hospice Friends provide rides as far as Yakima, to doctor visits for those without transportation. Needs are met for any person regardless of age and insurance.
On my way home, I went by Grocery Outlet to grab some canned dog food and salsa we forgot to get yesterday. Well, John had gotten some salsa but it was a bit too spicy so we’ll mix the two.
I returned home to get John so we could be at the surgeon’s office, Dr. Kenneth Harris, by 2:40 to sign in and collect information and vitals for a 3:00 p.m. appointment.
John and I went by Super 1 for a few things on our way home. We were both tired from awaking so early to be ready for the chipping crew, so we quit the trail a little sooner than normally.
Saturday, Nov 19
For Nov 18 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.00. Events: 14 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 6 min with (max = 9 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 two blips to low 87, with avg., 91.7%. Pulse 60.3, low 54.
Our Kittitas Valley Fiddlers and Friends, 8 of us, played, sang, and ate with an appreciative audience at Briarwood Commons Retirement center today. I invited our neighbor with her mom, who is considering moving into Briarwood. I thought that would be an excellent introduction to many of the active participants living there, who feed us every 3rd Saturday of the month. Next time will be Christmas music. Our meal today was little pigs cooked in a barbeque sauce, three different salads (potato, macaroni, and fruit). Some other stuff such as chips (Fritos & potato). Then a table of desserts.
Before we started, two of our guitar players sang through the song, Cotton Jenny, written by Gordon Lightfoot, in 1971, and sung by others through the years.
This link is a live performance in 1979 by Gordon Lightfoot, who is from Canada. He performed at the University of Iowa while we were there (? about 1971).
I brought the music home to put into my SongWriter software for us to add to our repertoire.
I put in my meds into the week’s container for the a.m. and p.m. dispersal. That’s the only way to go when you’re on as many as I am.
Sunday, Nov 20
For Nov 19 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI= 0.46. Events: 1 H, 1 OA, 4 RERA. Time on 4 hrs 22 min with (max = 10 L/min). I kept my oximeter on for the rest of the night. Oximetry: SpO2 many events, 31, below 88%, for 12 minutes between 5:30 a.m. -6, and a few between 7:30-8. Once to low 80, with overall avg., 90.7%. Pulse 61.9, low 50.
We both slept in (after I got up and turned off the CPAP at 4:00 a.m.). It did not freeze overnight.
We had early morning visitors in our front yard – the doe and her twins. We can now see the nubs on the larger twin, we had figured was a buck. They were coming to clean up the mountain ash berries John cut and had not yet picked up the single berries. He takes a few branches out to them, starting with the lower ones. Now he will not have to worry with cleaning anything up but the leaves, inside our fence.
The trio walked in the front gate and the twin doe (right) came up to see the cat (Lemon), who now is leaving the scene. Mama doe is in the middle, and the buck fawn is to the left. You can see John’s ladder and the Mountain Ash tree. After the fruit freezes the birds will eat it, but they won’t take it now.
Next, a collage close-up of the fawns at work:
Left, note the coloration of his nubs for antlers to come, and the doe fawn on the right demos the cleanup with a few berries showing beside her left foot, between her legs in front, and behind her right foot. Before the three left, they cleaned up all the berries, leaving only the leaves for John to sweep up.
We fed two cats and now John is out to feed the horses and take the dog for her morning walk. I need to get to work on the blog.
It is overcast but he may be able to accomplish something before it rains (a slim chance). The third feral cat arrived and had her morning vittles. Our inside/outside cat ate at 4:00 a.m. and went back to bed where he remains.
Actually, it is now 12:30 and the sun is out, and John returned to make an omelet for brunch. I am making good progress on the blog to hand over to John (probably not until dark because he needs to be working while light is available). At least tomorrow’s forecast is for sunny weather for the continuation of the fire-wise work. John flagged a few trees and flowering shrubs to be left.
The weather stayed okay for John all day so he didn’t come in until near dark – still that is early now. We managed to feed 2 of the ferals, and another came in and cleaned up the plates. We’re calling her Sally, but we don’t know where she originates, nor if she is girl or a guy. She has located the hard food feeder at our front door, but also will eat from the leftovers in the bowls of canned food for the two girls, Woody and Sue. Lemon eats around back. Tonight we missed picking up the girls’ leftovers, and apparently Sally scooped them clean.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan