Sunday, Jan 7
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 7: SpO2 low 83, 9 events <88% with overall avg., 91.3%. Avg. low SpO2, 88.7%. Pulse avg. 53.8, low 47. Slept 8 hrs 24 min.
This morning, I got the photos to Google to send to the AAC about the event on 1-5-18, Jeopardy & Scrabble games day with lunch. I started working on dishes, and it took me until very late afternoon to be able to start the dishwasher.
I printed 19 copies of a back to back page for the last two songs of our Jan-Feb music to add to the audience copies. Now just need to get John to staple them onto the current booklet. Then I have to arrange the music for my book, and for Charlie & Gerald’s book, and reach Maury by phone to check his music (and the 3 changes from 2017 Jan). Neither Gerald or Maury have a computer or access to email.
We posted the blog at 3:44 p.m.
We celebrated with a piece of chocolate cake, following our lunch (sausage, eggs, peaches, and cheese toast).
Late afternoon, Jeri Conklin on Facebook posted a set of photos of our co-owned Brittany, Cedaridge Kip’s Camelot Shay Tre’ JH (call name, Daisy). She is only one “leg” away from an AKC Senior Hunter (SH), with SH title to add to her name. The photos were taken during a training session this morning, which included two honors, a stop-to-flush, a point, and a retrieve to hand (pigeon). Jeri was the handler, and hubby Kurt, the photographer.
Daisy – all 4 feet off the ground running; & Finn (brace mate) too.
Daisy on her 1st honor on the point of her Weimaraner brace mate, and her 2nd honor with Jeri. Jeri’s just kneeling with her hand on her hip, watching. The handler cannot talk to or touch the dog stopped on an honor. 
Daisy on point brought a comment on Facebook (“very nice photo!”) from David A. Simons, from La Puente, CA, who connects to her through his dog he raised as a teenager, FC Simons Ruff-Shod O’dee. He asked after seeing this photo if he was in her pedigree. Yes, he definitely is (on the sire and dam).
Ruff was born 8-28-74 (which coincides with our move from Iowa to Idaho). He achieved his Derby points in the field with David handling (Derby dog competition goes to 2 years of age). That trial was held at Las Flores Ranch in southern California. 
David and his son, Jurgen, with Cody, his retriever from the Simons breedings.
Ours and Daisy’s connections to David is via Ruffy (the name we called him). We moved from Iowa to Idaho with 2 cats and a Brittany, Lovely Wistful Lady (Wisty, named for her wistful eyes). That year, we joined the Inland Empire Brittany Club (newly forming regional club with AKC) based in Spokane, WA, 90 miles from Troy, ID, where we lived. Through the IEBC, we met a field trainer, Dan Richmond. On Dan’s string was Ruff. John ran him in Amateur events, and we bred to him starting in the 1980s. When he was 9 yrs old, we bought him from another owner (after David).
I showed him because his conformation was excellent and he should have been a Dual Ch (field and show). I went on the Montana circuit with Carol Pochardt with Ruffy and others of our dogs and managed to get a bunch of reserves (2nd place, no points) because his teeth were quite worn (nothing wrong with the position of his bite). Judges didn’t like it, however. While he had show placements (and points) in his younger days, he never finished the Ch. But, he produced many Duals when bred to our Dual Ch. Sirius Sashay (born in 1978). Their breedings created Brittanys with excellent temperament, conformation, and hunting abilities. One owner of more Duals in that family than any other, is Michele Pelle. She still has semen stored from her DC/AFC MC’s Brett Jared O’dee from Shay & Ruffy. Simons dog is on both sides of Daisy’s pedigree.
Carol Pochardt, mentioned above, lived in Moscow, ID (13 miles from Troy) at the time, and she took Ruffy through Shoot-to-Retrieve trials, for many wins, and he competed in the Western Regionals in Oregon, with a friend from WA who handled GSPs. Ruffy had a nice long life and made it to Ellensburg, WA with us. He lived for 2 more years to almost 17, and was in good health and still hunting (and seeing and hearing), whereas Shay lost her hearing, but not her scenting abilities.
By the way, the Tre’ at the end of Daisy’s name is because she was the third Shay named thusly in our Cedaridge lines. 
Daisy-Stop to flush before another bird found (from her point above) with a retrieve to hand (pigeon).
Monday, Jan 8
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 7: SpO2 low 83, 8 events <88% with overall avg., 92.9%. Avg. low SpO2, 90.4%. Pulse avg. 53.5, low 50. Slept 8 hrs 35 min.
I called Larry at Safeway Pharmacy about Stephen’s selling me two bottles of 100 mg Allopurinal, for $26.54 each. I put the one for 90 tablets on the counter, but I had the 180 in my pocketbook from my last purchase there. I just looked it up again, and found for 180, the GoodRX price is $24.30. That was approved by Larry 3 months ago when a clerk did not want to honor the Discount Drug Card. So, theoretically I was affected twice this time, and accepted the extra bottle (I had only ordered ONE), but both were there. I have not opened them, and realize I cannot bring them back. I asked him if I could have difference returned in cash or credited to my credit card. He agreed, and a few days later, I received cash for this calculation: $26.54 – 24. 30 * 2 = $4.24. It pays to stay on top of all medical charges (including doctor visits), and whether the insurance was billed properly.
I went to SAIL today, and did some other things. It was supposed to snow today, but didn’t. I hope it doesn’t decide to, tomorrow.
I contacted Umpqua about ending the mortgage payments in Feb., but got nowhere, except probably it will just happen in February and quit being taken out of our checking account. We’ll later have to arrange with the Assessor’s Office how to pay the taxes, or just get them and pay them when the bill comes. It has been going into escrow and taken care of. End of story happened later with a postal notification from the bank, about the reconveyance fee of $106.61 to reconvey the ownership to our name, when the mortgage is paid. We have 30 days to get a certified check to the Spokane office to finish the procedure.
I checked on line and found this: The reconveyance fees will vary according to the state that you are in, but they are currently in the range of $50 to $65. They do receive upgrades every once in a while, but there is no defined schedule as to when these fees are assessed or changed. Your lender or lawyer may charge a slight premium for the convenience of paying the county registrar on your behalf. You can check with your local municipality to see what the state charges if you think that you are being overcharged by your liaison.
Also, Obtaining a Reconveyance When a Mortgage is Paid Off
In the state of Washington, when you pay off a mortgage, the lender must issue a deed of full reconveyance on the trust deed that secured the mortgage. The reconveyance deed is a recorded document that eliminates the lien that was recorded on the property. After the reconveyance is recorded by the lender, the property does not have any deeds of trust and is considered “free and clear.” The county recorder sends you the reconveyance after it has been recorded. After you pay off a mortgage in the state of Washington, your lender is required to issue a deed of reconveyance within 30 days of receiving the payoff. This shows that your property is free of encumbrances.
I plan to call the Assessor’s office to see what the charge for a reconveyance fee is for our county.
Check all medications to see what Costco will charge for them after finding out we can use the GoodRx price there.
I started tonight with John’s Tamsulin which is ready to run out and found that for the past 3 months we’ve paid $15.20/30 capsules. At Costco, we can get 90 capsules for $20.18. WOW!
His HydrocholoroThiazide 12.5 tab for 90 is actually cheaper at Super 1, so I will just keep a watch on all our meds. My Allopurinol 100 for 180 tabs at Safeway is $24.30 & at Costco $22.81, but at Costco, the added value is we get 2% back on all purchases there!
Here’s a happy note to add to our blog; check out the video below: Dog sledding reminds me of our old dog, Tailwind Talisman (Brittany), carrying a tennis ball up a flight of stairs, dropping it, and retrieving over and over again (in our Troy, Idaho house).
Fun on the snow [~80 seconds ]
Tuesday, Jan 9
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 8: SpO2 low 84, 7 events <88% with overall avg., 90.3%. Avg. low SpO2, 88.1%. Pulse avg. 54.0, low 50. Slept 8 hrs 23 min.
I dropped by the Historical Museum and paid our membership, and received this quarter’s Newsletter. On it is the list of talks, and we will go to several of them: Nick Zentner (geology), Allen Aronica (native Kittitas Indians), and Kelsey Doncaster (local history). I have put those on the desktop calendar hung on our kitchen wall. Nick’s is first, March 29. Allen lives near us, and plows our drive as needed, and we share things. Kelsey was my student.
Today was the first day of ballroom dancing instruction at the senior center (Ellensburg Adult Activity Center). 
You can see the rest of the people participating in the videos below, except for me, the videographer. I did practice some of the steps with the teacher (from CWU, Adam Meyers) and with my friend Evelyn (not in the pix above), but in the videos.
Video Jan 9 Ballroom Dancing Part 1
Jan 9 Ballroom Dancing – Fox Trot & Music Part 2
Wednesday, Jan 10
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 9: SpO2 low 85, 4 events <88% with overall avg., 91.6%. Avg. low SpO2, 89.6%. Pulse avg. 54.6, low 50. Slept 7 hrs 41 min.
Food bank, SAIL, and go by the Gym for Klaire (a probiotic).
I took my Amoxicillin at 2:00 p.m. during the middle of my exercise class in preparation for going at 3:00 for dental cleaning by Tracy. I received a nice report. Now to get insurance to pay for special prescription for fluride added toothpaste.
I paid my dues on line for the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers (APCG) retired rate, but it showed me my extra donation I normally make, but did not tally it into my total paid, so I was only charged $15. I guess it’s okay, as I won’t be attending the conference and luncheon I used to attend in past years to honor the women’s recipients of scholarships. Others in the profession still teaching and receiving part of the costs for attending conferences can pick up the slack. This year’s meeting is farther away than I want to drive, in Chico, CA. I did attend a meeting once when it was held in Olympia, WA a couple years ago.
Thursday, Jan 11
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 10: SpO2 low 85, 5 events <88% with overall avg., 93.2%. Avg. low SpO2, 90.7%. Pulse avg. 52.9, low 47. Slept 7 hrs 45 min.
We awoke to 5” of snow!
I called Cle Elum KVH office to request a refill for John’s Tamsulosin 0.4mg capsule for 90 to go to a different place (Costco Pharmacy in Union Gap). Costco’s price is $6.73/mo.
I completed washing dishes this morning. Weather is nasty. John went along with me to EBRG to help with the set-up and take down of chairs, and music. He reads in an adjacent room, but can still hear our wonderful music.
We had an amazing amount of people there today, 14 (Nancy, Gerald, Charlie, Minerva, Tim & Roberta, Maury, Kevin, Dean, Anne, Manord, Laina, Amy & Haley). We sounded pretty good today and had a very appreciative audience (as usual). Haley (our 4 yr. old mascot) charmed them at the end, with singing, Hey! Good Lookin’.
I got so busy with the snow and John and going to Safeway for some good sale prices that I forgot to go by my dentist’s office to pick up my prescription toothpaste they recommended to me. Now I have to wait until Tuesday after Monday’s MLK day. Oddly, CWU takes Monday as a holiday, and so has activities on Thursday the week before. Many, if not most, of the students here are from Puget Sound area and go home on weekends and, especially, for 3-day weekends.
We went to Bi-Mart after playing, because John saw in their newspaper flyer they had sunflower seeds for $6.00 off. With all the birds coming in daily and depending on us, we loaded up. I got some gel for my eyes (severe dryness prevention), some Fisherman Friends cough lozenges, plus many wire holders for Christmas ornaments (for a dime). I hope to use them to add extra silver bells to my bell wreath, which we use for keeping time to the music during December. Picture was in previous blog.
I wore my boots with a big flat sole and rubber bottoms, and really needed then in the parking lots where we stopped. I also needed them to get to and from my vehicle, at home, even with all John’s shoveling this morning.
Friday, Jan 12
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 11: SpO2 low 85, 4 events <88% with overall avg., 92.7%. Avg. low SpO2, 89.8%. Pulse avg. 53.7, low 49. Slept 8 hrs 40 min.
I called Cle Elum to see if the prescription for John made it to Costco. We were going in either case, but yes, it’s there.
We went to Costco to pick up my glasses and get some meds for John, at an incredible savings over Super 1 pharmacy. $15.20 there for 30 days supply and at Costco, where it’s $20.18 for 90 tablets!!! (through a GoodRX coupon). The only place in Ellensburg, honoring that is Safeway, and it is higher priced there.
We’re back from Costco, with good news. I have my new replacement glasses, the right eye still is not corrected to the same strength as the left, but it is a little better than it was. It may well be that that right eye will have to have its film removed with a laser, but thus far, it is not blurring yet, as the left eye did, and had to be lasered Oct 30. So, I will wait, patiently. I was given new eyeglass holders that can be folded up (easy to put in a shirt pocket), and, when one is done using them, one can return the glasses into the protective case. I guess you could call them a collapsible eyeglass case. I’ll have made a collage to show the concept, in case you are a reader who has never experienced such cases for eyeglasses. I had never seen one. 
Mine are black, but I chose to find some colorful images on the web to use for a demo picture. Also my eyeglass frames are much nicer and daintier than the one pictured. My lenses do not have a frame completely around them but sit on my nose piece with only the top and sides as part of the frame.
John’s year old glasses are covered with fine scratches, so while there, we also checked on the cost of lens only, if John wished to replace his. The Mt. Rainier trail was especially rocky and dusty (workers made more dust) and John was there over a dozen times last summer. The standard “wipe on your shirt tail” procedure is a poor choice in all the grit. Even lenses-only are a little pricey at $160, and the clerk said the company might reject the frame too, and you’d have to buy another. We were hoping they could remove the protective film from the glasses, but apparently that is not an option there. Ten years ago our local provider did this, but we don’t know if the current glasses are made in a different manner. They are from Costco Optical.
Saturday, Jan 13
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 12: SpO2 low 84, 8 events <88% with overall avg., 92.9%. Avg. low SpO2, 90.6%. Pulse avg. 52.8, low 50. Slept 8 hrs 23 min.
I’m trying to figure how to attend a wedding Mar 10, in Vancouver, WA, that requires at least a one night stay.
We spent an hour before brunch taking all the meat off the rotisserie chicken we brought home yesterday. We packaged up enough chunks of white meat to add to salads for a month or so of Wednesday lunches that I carry to the Food Bank, every Wednesday. The rest we nibbled on while working, and some will go into a pan to cook to remove the fat, use the broth, and have some base for casseroles.
Sunday, Jan 14
No CPAP – Oximetry for Jan 13: SpO2 low 86, 2 events <88% with overall avg., 92.8%. Avg. low SpO2, 90.1%. Pulse avg. 54.2, low 50. Slept 8 hrs 43 min.
Morning started with dishes cleanup, animal feedings, email review, overnight news and oximetry review and capture, checking weather (we had a bright spot of sun on the hill behind us, but no longer). It’s going to be another dreary overcast drippy roof snow-melting day and week. Some of the ice on the back patio concrete melted a little and John was able to remove. Temperature is 37°, misty, with only 1.5 mile visibility. When we awoke it was 4° in the town where John was born, Brookville, PA, and where his cousin almost 100 yrs and her daughter live (in separate houses).
Phew. After making lunch, John’s been working on outside chores and me inside, plus trying to finish this week’s blog to get out tonight. I just finished loading the dishwasher I had started yesterday.
Finishing up the blog and ready to turn it over to John, for editing and putting onto WordPress, but he is also busy fixing baked chicken thighs for supper.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan