Saturday, June 17
For June 16 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.46. Events: 3 H, 2 PP, 17 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 30 min with (max = 8 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 88, no events <88% with overall avg., 93.5%. Pulse avg. 52.9, low 49.
Because of John’s early 5:20 a.m. departure for Mt. Rainier to a WTA work party at White River, we put out the blog last night, so it is shorter than usual, and I am remembering this morning things that I left out.
Yesterday’s mail brought a report of my blood type, as B positive.
John was able to go to Costco Thursday to pick up his new glasses, and while there bought some Alaska cod, a lot of fruit, beans, and animal food. We already have had some nutritious dinners. The other thing I forgot was his trip to Big 5 Sporting Goods with a 20% off coupon, where he bought a neat pair of waterproof work boots (Magnum) with a side zipper. He wore them today and they worked fine. I guess they don’t need “broken in” as regular work boots with hard sole and leather.
After sleeping in for 3 hours, I fed cats, arranged for a player today at Briarwood, and for an eventual pick up of more pallets just around the block a mile away, worked on dishes, ate the beginning of brunch, and set up an upload of the videos of our music we are planning that I took last week: Send Me Back Home, and Pass Me By. They will only be there for people to download for 7 days, so I won’t give you the link. They’re just for Evie and me to work with on the preparation.
I put one song from my old camera (only a 9-minute upload) on YouTube. It records at a much lower resolution than my newer Nikon.
Apologies for the ending. I was double recording, Nikon in left hand and Casio Exilim in right. This one in my right hand I missed getting the camera turned off in time.
Charlie and Gerald singing Send Me Back Home
Today we had several people playing music at Briarwood. Gerald and I were the first to arrive, and our newest member, Rhonda was next. She plays the Cello. We have never had a cello in our group, and it has a nice sound to complement our sound. A person in the audience came up afterwards to say how the cello sound she added was “mellow.”
We helped take down the tables and move the chairs into lines and set up folding chairs for the players. Others who joined us to play today included Amy, Joanie, Charlie, Dean, Sharon, and Anne. After we played 25 songs, we visited with each other and the residents, having cookies, cupcakes, and punch. One of the residents gave me a songbook with 114 old-time songs like the type we play. The group today comprised a very good choir. We had a lot of fun with them.
I left just before 4:00 p.m. and went to within 6 miles of my home, out in a field to a double-double Hunt Test, sponsored by the WA Brittany Club and the WA German Shorthair club. I knew that my friend (since 2000) in Brittanys was to be there with 4 of her dogs. Her name is Karen Barrows. Her lines go back to our lines. We visited in her trailer. Just as I was getting ready to come home, she introduced me to two families who have dogs with our Cedaridge lines behind them. That was nice. Almost like being at a family reunion. I did not previously know either one of the families, the Thompsons and the Pollacks.
John got home before I did from Mt. Rainier, and when he realized it, he called my cell phone and found me there at the hunt test grounds.
I came home to a message from Jeri Conklin about our Brittany, Daisy’s surgery today.
Below is a picture of what they removed today. The doc thinks it may actually be a reaction to the rattlesnake vaccine as there was a pocket of liquid at the end. The removal was sent in for histology report, because she hasn’t seen anything like it. It will be 5-7 days to get the report back.
The report arrived Saturday, 6/23, and I have a copy, but the verdict is that it was a reaction to the vaccination, and most likely the shot was administered in the wrong place by another vet. Currently, the diagnosis is it was a reaction to the vaccine, yet they are planning to consider further analyses with more due diligence in doing special stains to rule out the possibility of any infectious causes. Those data will be presented in an addendum to the first report, which I will report in next week’s blog.
I don’t know the scale of the above photo. Guessing only it might have been 3″ ? The lump was the size of a quail or maybe a Chukar egg.
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Then later, John showed me the photos he took on the work party today. We’ll try to put in a few explanatory ones after tomorrow’s work is added. I enjoy “going on the trips” this way. He also described the day’s work and that he thinks he didn’t eat enough calories yesterday because his BP was low enough to give him a funny feeling in his head (?) while lifting and carrying heavy rocks. He took a break, got a candy bar and a drink mid-morning, and was better the rest of the day.
Sunday, June 18
For June 17 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.30. Events: 1 CSR, 2 H, 19 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 40 min with (max = 9 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 90, no events <88% with overall avg., 92.8%. Pulse avg. 54.2, low 50. From about 1:15 a.m. to 2:45, I must have been restless while sleeping and knocked off my oximeter. Hence, there's a gap in my recorded parameters on the CPAP, when comparing the SpO2 and pulse. The CPAP does not measure SpO2, which is my only reason for being on the CPAP, to keep it over 88%. It does work.
John left at 5:35 for Bill Weir’s house to catch a ride with him to White River work spot in Mt. Rainier Park. I took John’s BP, my own pills, my own BP, fed the cats, and went back to bed for a couple hours.
It started raining this morning, which was not predicted. It is not showing on the imagery. Diuretic is working overtime. I’m receiving lots of exercise going up and down the hall.
Report from Jeri that Daisy is some better from her surgery. Apparently, the sedation (gas) hit her pretty hard.
I’ve been reading about healthy snacks. For lunch, I had dried apples and dry toast.
Tried working on Freddy Fender’s, “Before the Last Teardrop Falls” music score input, but ran into problems. I need to videotape Charlie & Gerald doing that one. I finally got all the music in, but I’m sure it doesn’t match up with the way he sings it. For the note-readers in the group, we will have to change a few notes in some phrases. This tailoring takes too much of two people’s time (Evie’s and mine).
Here are a few collages from John & Bill’s work party at White River.
John – and then at the end of the day, entire crew on their completed bridge over the smaller of the two braided channels of the White River – downstream 2.5 miles from the ice, over John’s right shoulder in the left photo.
Bill is on the far end of the bridge next to John, the little girl in the middle is with her father. She’s 12 yrs old, and on her 2nd WTA work party. It was the first for her dad to her right. Short guy in the middle is part of the Mt. Rainier trail crew. Photo by Crew leader, Hannah.
Filling buckets of dirt and John & Bill leading rock hauling with Mira and her dad behind Bill. WTA crews refer to rocks as 1, 2, … to 8 or so person rocks. This was a 4-person rock.
Monday, June 19
For June 18 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.26. Events: 2 H, 16 RERA. Time on 7 hrs 45 min with (max = 6 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 89, no events <88% with overall avg., 92.5%. Pulse avg. 52.9, low 50.
Transferred BP data and then scanned and sent to my cardiologist’s nurse for her to see the weekend number readings.
I’m still working on filling in the paperwork for Audra, who will be my nutritional adviser, at her offer. She’s had 30 years of experience as a certified nutritionist.
Getting the internet to reconnect has been a pain today.
For lunch I ate some tuna salad, a pear, and Cheez-It®s
I went to SAIL class.
After SAIL I went by and delivered my 3/4 size violin to a 12-yr old to be restrung for a viola. That will save them $20/month rental. I’m just loaning it.
Sent request for attendance so I can properly tell the chair count before Thursday for our Fiddlers and Friends, who are going this week to Hearthstone.
Our furnace (AC and heat) quit working today. At least we have decent cooler weather for the next few days. I called in at 4:37, and they only work from 8:00 to 4:30! So, I left a message to call in the morning. The compressors are working (in the outside unit), but the fans in the house are not.
Need to go harvest strawberries when it cools down some.
We did, and shared the bad ones with the two “little” grown fawns. The buck has spikes that are beginning to separate on one side.
I fixed the strawberries for dessert.
Tuesday, June 20
For June 19 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.17. Events: 1 H, 17 RERA. Time on 5 hrs 49 min with (max = 8 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 88, 1 event <88% with overall avg., 91.5%. Pulse avg. 56.3, low 53.
Not going to town today. Been cleaning some but mostly working mostly on taxes.
The next video starts with the bridge John walked across on Nick’s field trip (photo in the blog last week)
FAST timing on WA views in the Wild
Best way to watch that video is pressing/clicking on and off (pause) at the start.. otherwise it is too fast to see the neat photos of outdoor landscape view of places all over WA.
John’s comment on the WTA site: (where the many photos were published). Dry Side John commenting RE: opening photo of the cables and steel decked bridge. Last Sunday 11th, I crossed that bridge – it was stop #3 on a geology field trip to Rimrock Lake. Otherwise, I would have been on a WTA work party. I was at Mt. Rainier on the 8th, 17th, and 18th with Hannah and crews. Come on out.
Today, on Facebook, I received the good news from Jeri Conklin in CA of her her winning photo of our dog Daisy zenning in a Poppy field. I learning a new word today. Had to look up zenning. Maybe you will too.
Wednesday, June 21
For June 20 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.12. Events: 1 CSR, 1 H, 17 RERA. Time on 8 hrs 10 min with (max = 15 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 92, 0 events <88% with overall avg., 92.6%. Pulse avg. 52.4, low xx.
Today was my normal Wednesday pickup of my friend Gloria to attend music and lunch at the F.I.S.H. Food Bank and go on to SAIL exercise at the AAC. We had a good time at both.
From Elise in New Jersey:
“Look how big this turtle is. I put a 3×5 card down for scale. She must be really old! I have never seen a slider this big, usually 1/2 that size!”
I never heard of a slider turtle before, but John found their range includes GA. 
See distribution map
Chester Poole (from Massachusetts) published this 6/13/17
>>> (He says:) As most of you know I rarely post items about my life for all to see; however, I am making an exception in this case as I feel it’s very important. On Sunday evening upon eating a hamburger from our grill I felt something abnormal in my burger. I tried to spit it out and tried to cough up anything that may be there. Upon eating my second bite I felt a needle-like pain in my throat. I spent 5 hours in outpatients and after some X-rays, they determined that I had a foreign like straight object in my throat. After an IV I was sent home and they were going to try to get a surgeon in Yarmouth to extract it. Monday morning the out patients doctor called and said that I would need to go to Halifax as no one in Yarmouth had the equipment or expertise to remove. Arrived in Hfx at 12:00. The doctors were great. The young ENT doctor on call told us that he was going to be brutally honest and that he sees this all the time and that there was a one in one hundred chance of finding it. He scoped me through my nose for five minutes and was able to see it. Normally he said he would have scheduled me for surgery last night after finding it but wanted to try to remove in the exam room. Let’s just say the procedure is not a fun one and would not wish it on anyone. He used a second scope and was able to extract. He told me that i was a very lucky man and that i should buy a lotto ticket. The piece he extracted was from our barbecue brush and about one inch long. Our brush is in good shape and i hardly use it. He says he gave up his brushes 10 yrs ago because he sees this sort of thing a lot. The thing that was concerning was that he said a lot of times they cannot be found because they imbed themselves in the soft tissue of your throat and that you end up doing more damage by poking around trying to find it to remove. They end up leaving them there and you live with the discomfort. Every time I was swallowing it felt like a needle was in there. Not fun. The thing that bothered me was that if we had provided burgers to anyone else, especially our grandchildren, it would have been the worst. I do not believe a small child would have been able to go through the procedure to remove very easily at all. We went to Costco and bought wooden scrapers for each of our kids. Here is a picture the surgeon took of my throat with the bristle. It is blown up several times of course. All this to say to my Facebook friends, please consider very seriously of getting rid of your wire brushes.
This is of Chester’s throat with a wire brush thistle embedded.
John says: Use a piece of wood and a crumpled piece of aluminum foil – or broil inside, it is easier.
I found this while getting on to a private message from my friend about some information she had on an aquafitness class she is taking. I’m going to meet her at the Ellensburg Memorial Pool next Tuesday, to see what it involves, and consider joining. The class meets 7 times a week (Mon-Thurs) at 10:40 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. No way can I make the evening classes, and I cannot make the Wednesday morning one either.
Thursday, June 22
For June 21 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.75. Events: 1 CSR, 5 H, 1 PP, 18 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 40 min with (max = 16 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 88, no events <88% with overall avg., 92.9%. Pulse avg. 51.9, low 48.
Playing connection games with the Internet again.
We played at Hearthstone with KV Fiddlers & Friends.
John went to town for gasoline, dropping me off for music. While there he shopped several places for a new chest freezer, because of losing the freezer space in the 37 year old (extra) refrigerator that quit, and not having enough space for all the frozen stuff we like to have here in the country. When the old one quite we had plenty of space for the regular stuff, just not the frozen stuff. He rearranged and tossed a few old things – nothing costly. He bought and arranged for a Kenmore 12512 15.6 cu. ft Chest freezer, which will arrive at our house next Thursday.
We stopped by Safeway for groceries, but mainly for me to get a $25 gift card, from transferring a new prescription to there. I had already arranged for it, because the price is about half half the cost there for cash rather than at my usual pharmacy using my insurance co-pay.
I received very sad news tonight from my friend (since 1977) in S. Lake Tahoe. She has owned 3 of our Brittanys through the years since we met her when we were in Troy, Idaho. She tragically lost her 12-yr old male, Cedaridge Tri-Tip Kip. Kip is the father of our Daisy that you have seen pictures of a lot in this blog. Kip was a Tri-Color Brittany and the full brother to our dog, Ch Cedaridge Vintage Cork (who likewise met a tragic ending 6 yrs ago). Sonja Willitts still has his son, Tug, brother to our Daisy.
Friday, June 23
For June 22 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=3.71. Events: 3 CSR, 2 CA, 21 H, 1 OA, 7 PP, 13 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 12 min with (max = 14 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 90, no events <88% with overall avg., 52.5%. Pulse avg. 52.5, low 49. The AHI might be very high, but the things pertaining to my need for the machine (SpO2) was fine.
Darren (From Brad & Burke Heating and Air Conditioning) came at 8:25. I met him outside and he wanted to start with the unit in the backyard. He found some bees inside so he went out and got spray from his car and I stepped out of the way while he went. He took off the panel on the left and found a nest in the bottom. He said he upset them, but then he sprayed them. He listened to some of our symptoms and asked questions, and decided to look at the capacitor. Turns out the Company’s vehicle stock has capacitors. He replaced the first because it was shot and had oil leaked out of the top of it. Then he found the second one, and it was in the same condition. He said those weren’t that expensive and that the call for him to come out this far would cost more than the parts. It was a #25. He had them both in his rig, so could go out, get them, and replace. I talked with him, watched, and asked questions the whole time. He had turned off the electricity to the unit manually at the outside box, but still checked to be sure it was off, before proceeding. So, once they were installed he was able to turn the electricity back on and manually test running the fans outside. I had gone back in to turn on the fan. His test indicated there were still problems in the house unit because I could not start the fan from the thermostat. He dismantled the left side and checked the electric motor, saying he hoped it wasn’t that because that would be a $1,000 cost for the part and he’d have to order it. He went from checking motor to checking the computer board. They both appeared to be working. But the noise I heard was the unit being heated up, and that’s what can ruin the capacitors and also burn up the motor. He insisted that we should check all the filters monthly, just to be sure. We don’t have to wash and clean or replace the big one unless they are dirty, but it is crucial to check them monthly. Then, he went to the hallway thermostat and took off the bottom, revealing some buttons he blew dust off of, and did something with one of the left ones. Then, he blew more dust off the top. He said we need to keep up with that cleaning regularly too. Ha!
He did some stuff and turned on the fan, but it did not start. He adjusted some more stuff, and then tried again. It came on. He was going to manually turn on the fan to run all the time to give him time to get us a new thermostat, (about $240), but decided to make some more adjustments, and then we had to wait 5 minutes between the start and the response. This happened twice. First time we were in the den where the motor and computer board are, reassembling it, so the 5 minutes went quickly. Second time we were just standing in the hallway waiting. But, it worked. He told me to report back in case the fan stopped again. He was not going to order any more parts. The thermostat was the culprit, but thankfully, it was not the motor that quit – at the replacement price required. He is going to write up all the details on the invoice report, which we will get in 5-7 days. I thanked him for going through all the details with me and responding to my questions. He doesn’t handle any money. It’s all done through the main office, so his report will come with the invoice next week.
The AAC (senior center) had a healthy lunch today preceding the dancing at the Senior Prom dance. Carol Cummings is a dance instructor, and she led a couple of line dances I participated in.
I took a number of videos, before I decided to have a dance with a member of the AAC (Pat Carney). We had our photo taken and it is displayed below, but I don’t have any videos of my dancing.
I danced a few times, and went back to photographing. After one of her partners (Wolfgang Franz, a retired professor of Economics at CWU), saw me taking some pictures of his dancing with her, he came over and asked me for a dance when a waltz was played. We didn’t realize it was the last dance of the day, but he talked through it about the time of music, and the steps to take. I’m sorry we didn’t have a chance to try our luck at a dance.
I took photos and videos, using the old camera for videos, and the new one for photographs. Here are a couple of collages of the day:
Curtis, Nancy, Marilyn =========== Nancy & Pat
My lunch table, Lynn, Ann & Pat ========= Buffet line
Connie Bright & Pat Carney ==== Marilyn & Curtis Rost ==== Mary Ann
Various dancers
Women from back and front having fun
On my way to the lunch and Senior Prom, I stopped by Hearthstone and retrieved one of our music notebooks left there yesterday. I went by Super 1 to return a dated item for a refund. And by Les Schwab. Dashboard message came on when starting car, to check tires, but it still is coming on after a nice fellow found 3 of my tires low. He agreed with me that my tires look worn. I asked him if they had a sale upcoming, and he laughed and said, we always have “something” on sale.
Internet down 5 times tonight and down again as I go to bed.
I was able to take off all the photos and videos on my cameras from today. But, I’m unable to do anything with them yet because of an unreliable connection to upload.
Here, I got 8 minutes of the best uploaded Saturday afternoon, and luckily, when the connection broke, it didn’t lose the upload, and finished.
Two minutes of various dancing interpretations today at AAC.
Connie Bright and Wolfgang Franz Dancing a Fast one (at the end)
Saturday, June 24
For June 23 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.14. Events: 1 H, 1 PP, 23 RERA. Time on 7 hrs 15 min with (max = 8 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 91, no events <88% with overall avg., 92.6%. Pulse avg. 51.7, low 49.
John is staying home today and watering – getting strawberries, veggies, flowers, the small (newish) Plum trees and a few other small trees watered. Temps will be above 90 today and just under 100 on Sunday, when he will be gone.
Morning trying to finish things, and responding to email with important dated information, that arrived last night when I was off the computer. I’m also doing clean-up of the old broken refrigerator so that John can get it out of the house. He’s already moved all the stuff from the freezer and stuff that essentially needs cooled. All that remains to be moved are things I can toss, put away without water (water bottles), and move anything needed, elsewhere.
I receive from Jeri Conklin Daisy’s histology report from her surgery. It was from the Rattlesnake Vaccine which she had on June 6th. She says her vet is a little concerned about giving future vaccines but never again on the rattlesnake, for sure.
John went to town for gas his trip to Mt. Rainier tomorrow. I need to notify neighbors about our irrigation needs he found out from a neighbor while up near the end of the road working on watering. These mountain fed streams fill up with rocks and want to change directions. Look up alluvial fan.
When shade came to the patch and it cooled down, he harvested enough strawberries to use tonight, which we jointly cleaned.
Sunday, June 25
For June 24 CPAP. Reported figures. AHI=0.00. Events: 1 PP, no H, 7 RERA. Time on 6 hrs 12 min with (max = 11 L/min). Oximetry: SpO2 low 88 (spurious 71, messes avg. calc), no events <88% with overall avg., 92.7%. Pulse avg. 54.1, low 49.
John left for Mt. Rainier at 5:40 a.m. Scheduled to be 99° high today. Thank heavens for our a/c. It only made it to 97°.
Spent over an hour on cleanup computer things…until the Internet shut down and stopped me.
Found the 4th July music bag in the back room for this Thursday and Friday. Need to sort out the old stuff. And take some music from last year if needed by players for the old stuff… Dixie is on the Oct/Nov 2016 list as number 4. We might use it, if time.
Walked up the drive with Annie and called Peggy, John’s sister.
Temp on the front porch was 92.5°, but at the airport, it was 90.
I continued in the shady parts of the driveway as long as I could.
I talked ~13 minutes to Peggy, while Annie ran around, into the pasture, and got in the irrigation ditch to cool off.
John just called at 5:35 from Naches, and is an hour & 15-20 min away. He only ate his two pieces of pizza in the few miles before he called me. It was way too hot there, and they all got exhausted and spent time re-hydrating at a picnic table before coming home. He won’t need any supper, so I’m to go get a (freezer) cream pie to have with the strawberries we fixed last night. I ate a few for lunch, but there will be plenty for us both tonight. John arrived sooner than expected, at 6:31.
Annie awaited him in the shade in the front yard. Temp is still > 90°. He came in hot and turned the cooling “down” but the fan did not come on. It has worked all day until the last 2 hrs, maybe. Phooey, but very happy I had it during the hottest days of the weekend. I have put in a call for the technician to return tomorrow, if possible. At least we can cool the house down tonight with outside air going to 65. Monday will be 10 degrees cooler, and still lower the rest of the week. We won’t die from the heat and it never went over 80 in the house today.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan