Saturday, May 16
For May 15 CPAP. Reported figures. 8 hrs 48 min with AHI = 0.23 Events: 2H, 1CSR No major mask leaks (max=8 L/min). After SpO2 oximetry data added, AHI=0.22, and oximeter was on for 9 hrs 8 min.
Interesting. John left at 5:33 a.m. and I decided to lie back down and catch some more sleep. I did not get to bed until after midnight, and the alarm for John went off at 5:00 a.m. I managed to sleep another couple of hours, but needed to take my diuretic and Tylenol to start it before having to play music at 2:00. I left 10 minutes early so that I could afford time to stop at a yard sale a couple miles over from us, which is on the way to town. I did not see any signs or activity so I kept going to town. Several miles farther, almost to town, I came to an intersection and saw a sign with the address on it. On my way home, I found signs and the gal running it around the back of the house not seen from the road, out of the wind. She said they had only one box at the end of their drive and someone told them it had blown over, so they put another out. Both were very visible on my return trip about 4:00 p.m. We talked awhile and I bought a $1 divided serving/Pyrex platter, with a little over an inch high sides. Mostly we visited and saw a bunch of Canada geese in the field behind her house.
Back to the day of music. We had a good group, 2 fiddles, bass fiddle, viola, clarinet, and 2 guitars. Many people were out of town or packing to go. The retirement group fixed us a nice meal of salads, chicken-salad sandwiches, and desserts. My favorite was a fruit salad, with cantaloupe, grapes, strawberries, and a bunch of other stuff, but I like those the best. We had muffins and cobblers, and a great almond strudel like cake, strawberry-frosted Bundt cake, and blueberry muffins. The punch was orange with sherbet on top. I didn’t eat a ton, but enough. I probably will not need too much for dinner. We have leftover tender chicken breasts (boneless) that John cooked last night in a batter made from pancake mix. With it we had beets.
Sunday, May 17
For May 16 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 24 min with AHI = 0.16 Events: 1H No major mask leaks (max=7 L/min). After SpO2 oximetry data added, AHI=0.10, and oximeter was on for 10 hrs 30 min, was not asleep entire time.
John was gone all day again to the Crew Leader College, but realizing we had not talked to his cousin on Mother’s Day or since she sent us the Maple Syrup, I called her. Normally, we both are on the line and visit, reminiscing about the past; but today it was just the two of us, and we had a great visit.
His instruction today was Red Cross First Aid with CPR. This is a minimal activity. There is a 2 day class that he should take. After that there is a week-long with night-time training and a not-insignificant cost. The class, this time, included practice with a pretend external defibrillator, as shown. It speaks but does not shock.
I had him take along the backpack I had been given, and found on line the description of the contents. My friend in Alabama in Emergency management was interested in the description in last week’s blog, and wanted pictures. This was a lot easier and more professionally done than I could have. Besides, John had it with him, in North Bend, WA.
When an emergency strikes, be prepared at work, home or on the road with the Basic Emergency Preparedness Kit from the American Red Cross.
Contents:
Backpack with multiple pouches
1 Waterproof AM/FM radio with batteries
1 Battery powered flashlight (2D cell batteries included)
4 AA cell batteries
1 Emergency blanket, 4.5′×7′
Moist towelettes (individually wrapped)
1 Pen light
Food packets, 2,400 calories total, 5 year shelf life (ingredients include wheat flour, vegetable shortening, granulated sugar, salt, water and coconut flavoring)
Water pouches, total of 16 ounces, 5 year shelf life
Procedural breathing mask
Rain poncho (adult sized)
1 Roll of duct tape, 2″ × 30 yds
1 Water container, holds 3.5 gallons
1 Whistle
1 Hygiene comfort kit, including toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, lotion, soap, deodorant, washcloth, comb, and mesh shower bag
1 45-piece First aid kit, including compresses, adhesive bandages, first aid tape, antibiotic ointment, antiseptic wipes, hand sanitizer, scissors, gauze, and latex-free gloves
… and here is a photo of the contents of the First Aid Kit mentioned at the end of the above list.
The First Aid kit is all that might go on a WTA day trip. For longer trips, the “Blue Hat” Crew Leaders will have more training and more things. Good Samaritan Laws allow folks to give aid up through their training level, but not beyond.
New subject: I sent a request with the left photo below in the collage to the Buy Nothing Ellensburg group, on Facebook. I want a sturdy bag to carry these vintage Maracas for a list member I met through here to join our music group. These fantastic musical instruments are members of our family – Ha ha – I’ve no idea where I got them but think, maybe a garage sale about 20 years ago! So I am not offering them; just loaning and they need protected. Overall size is 8″ x 8″ x 4″. From a web search, we think the origin of these is pre-Castro, when Cuba was a tourist destination.
Heather JB first came through with a lovely purple box but then when I met her, she had found a two-sided padded pocket purse you can see in the right pix, with the Maracas in it. It’s sitting on a carrying bag, I found on the free table at the Senior Center. So we’re all set for Larae to join our group.
I also wrote about a friend, Muriel, that needs support for cancer treatment. I asked if anyone knew of organizations that would donate funds for cancer treatments. The “buy-nothing” site moderators take such requests down but, in this case, it was up long enough that the wife of a former student who survived cancer wrote me an answer, which I passed along to my friend’s family. Muriel will have to be in Seattle for 3 months and needs at least $32,000 over what insurance will cover.
My prime motive in this next bit is to show the ways folks can think of to waste money when there is much real need elsewhere.
I took some pictures (below) of my gift awarded for 50 years membership in the Association of American Geographers. Sorry AAG, but this is a waste. John reminded me of another waste from our government. We haven’t figured a way to re-purpose the holder from the AAG, but we will re-purpose the nice oak frame, from the other certificate. I will show the frame when I reuse it on a pretty matted photo. Now, you just get the collage of the two “honors” with which I’m not impressed. The oak framed certificate is thanks for my evaluating information on their jobs site about jobs that advertise need of a geographer (and they wanted my opinion what geographers are able to do). They sent me $40 and a cute clock after my first submission. The clock sits on top of our refrigerator and the microwave oven has a clock. So does the conventional oven. I could put the cute one in another room but it is not needed in any of them.
The AAG packet was mailed for $7.15, because I could not be at the Chicago annual meeting. I would have gotten a free luncheon. You can see the certificate for 50 years membership in the Association of American Geographers, in a leather-like carrier. In between the carrier and the framed certificate is a nice gold name tag with my full name, the AAG on top and FIFTY YEAR MEMBER on it. I think I will wear it to the End of Year Geography Department party this year, because most of the students no longer know me, with my being gone for 5 years. As for the wood frame, money, and clock from the U. S. Department of Labor, the term “befuddle” comes to mind.
NOTE: the blur on the images above in the upper right, kinda a light spot. That’s been happening recently in all my photographs the past couple of months. I finally thought to look at the lens, and then told John, who cleaned it with a special eye glass microfiber cloth. NOW – my pictures are okay again. Thank you, my fixer-upper John.
Whoopee, continued cleaning up stuff around my chair and found the missing (only from last week) copies of music for the audiences we entertain. I only had 12 copies with me yesterday, and I knew I had run more. They were in a separate envelope, and now are moved to a better carrying place. John had found a fancy but very dusty canvas carrying bag, I just cleaned it, and hung to dry. When it is ready, I shall put this find in it and get it to my trusty carryall car. I’m still going through boxes of stuff John pulled for me to sort through.
John called at 2:40 and is done for the day, so I hope to see the whites of his eyes about 4:30.
Monday, May 18 – Mount St. Helens’ eruption, 1980
For May 17 CPAP. Reported figures. 7 hrs 36 min with AHI=0.13 Events: 1H. No major mask leaks (max=16 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 4 min AHI = 0.11
We drove to Yakima for a 9:30 a.m. Subaru oil change and lube that was done by 10:10, and we were given a free car wash (type, normal) worth $9.00 at a place called Spanky’s (I assume for spanking clean), which it was. You can get more attention for your car by paying up to $15. Strange – new car wash to me. I’m used to whirling brushes. Do they have those anymore? I haven’t taken my car through one in years. This one today started with two girls hosing the car all over, windows and body, with soapy water, and then the car is pulled along a conveyor belt and ends by going through sprayed-on clear rinse water. On out to be towel dried by two guys. Such car washing used to be done at the dealer’s place but they remodeled and now send us to Spanky’s. We wonder what their charge is.
On to the Yakima Heart Center to have an ICD check at 11:00 by Toni. My battery has 9% left that should take me to November or December, before alert time. At that point there will still be 90 days of charge, so arrangements can be made for replacement. I will have to have my medications adjusted, particularly the blood thinning ones before the surgery happens. It’s currently unclear whether I will have only the battery replaced, or the whole unit with a different make. John’s and my impression after talking with the surgeon a couple months ago, was that he would just replace the battery in the existing unit, but Toni claims that is no longer done. We’ll see later this year.
We drove by a Burger King and took advantage of a couple of specials, with our own drinks, which we ate under the shade of a nice tree in the (near by) Home Depot parking lot. That must be a regular happening for people’s lunch; as we sat there, we looked around and saw 3 other vehicles with folks doing the same thing. Costco was our next stop for $2.739/gal gasoline, and a trip through the store, where we bought almost $300 worth. About $50 of that was for other friends. From there we drove to Selah, (see more about that town below), and we turned in the final specs and learned the cost of our new patio door, which was ordered and will be delivered in four weeks. John has had the existing one out, but it is now back up – held in by just 4 nails. {Water proof tape and “minimal” expansion foam has arrived via Amazon.com.} We are ready.
Tuesday, May 19
For May 18 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 56 min with AHI=0.51 Events: 3 H. No major mask leaks (max=12 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 6 min AHI = 0.33
Crazy day. Horses broke a wood pole and a couple came out of their pasture again. With lots of grass at that spot, they did not go anywhere. He made them go back and replaced the broken pole with one more stout. I continued working on things and seem to be getting farther behind the more I work. Then we cleaned up and got out of here for both our annual eye exams. Went okay for both of us but was a long wait. People were coming late for appointments. Don’t know why that situation had them make us wait, but it happened. I was scheduled for 2:15 and John for 2:45. We got there right after 2:00 to fill out our paperwork. I was taken in at 2:15, but then waited a very long time for the Dr. to see me, after the technician went through all her measurements with me. During John’s check-in, a gal who used to work at the Hospital’s Lab as a phlebotomist was his technician. When she saw his name she said, “Are you Nancy’s husband? Small world in a small town. John got new lenses that will be put in his old frames. I’m okay for another year, but a membrane is going to require removing in the future. I’m currently approved for the surgery, but I’m not showing the changes in my vision yet, so until then, I will go without. My intraocular lens replacements were inserted in 1997, and I have 20/20 vision with both eyes, without glasses, and my close-up vision without reading glasses. I’m one of the fortunate few, apparently.
Wednesday, May 20
For May 19 CPAP. Reported figures. 8 hrs 27 min with AHI=0.12 Events: 1 OA, when electricity went off 5 min at 5:30. No major mask leaks (max=6 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 20 min AHI = 0.11
Off at 11:00 to Food Bank Soup Kitchen for music and a meal following to thank us. We had chicken fettuccine, salad, and a great dessert of cobbler with blueberries, apples, and oatmeal crunchy crust. On to the SAIL exercise class with only 10 members today, but while there, I grabbed some neat stuff from the free table. A cashew candy bar for John, a red carrying bag for me to put a protected carrier around my maracas pictured above. In addition, I got a large numbered calculator free and a pair of colorful socks, brand new packaged. I then drove by my dentist for a new very soft bristled toothbrush, and on to the Royal Vista Nursing home to meet Heather JB from the Buy Nothing group I had shared some hens & chicks with previously. She had a double bag that she thought might work to protect my maracas. I shall put the package together tomorrow and photograph it to send my thank you (again, refer above). Then I went into the building to perform with Karen E (the accordion player). We entertained until 4:00 and made many people happy. On home where John met me at the gate to let me in and put the fence back up across the driveway entrance in case the horses find another weak link in the temporary fence. He needs to get 6 new posts and a gate up before the escaping horse problems end.
Thursday, May 21
For May 20 CPAP. Reported figures. 6 hrs 2 min with AHI=0.50 Events: 3 H. No major mask leaks (max=10 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 10 min AHI = 0.33
Having all sorts of problems with my SpO2 data today. Gave up and will try later. Restarted my machine, and got it in through the software Sleepyhead but not though SpO2 review. Weird. I have done it the other way since last fall, and now it is not working.
Dry Creek today. They changed their name to Brookdale. We had a strange day, all spread out because a woman was eating her lunch slowly, and we didn’t want to move her, so we strung out on both sides of the table. We had 9 players/singers there, and a large audience of at least 18.
I started corresponding with folks we’ve known for 25 years about an older Gem top canopy for a long-box pickup. They live farther east in central WA, near Moses Lake. This is not the canopy John would like – but it will do and is only about 1/3 to ¼ of the cost of the fancy ones.
Wind started blowing hard right before 6:00 p.m. We’ve heard thunder in the hills today, and a DNR fire truck going east as I was coming up Naneum, plus the helicopters we heard, make me wonder if there is a lightning-caused fire. Now at just before 9:00 p.m. it is all settled down, from gusting at 35 mph to sustained 13 mph.
John has to leave at 5:15 a.m. to get to North Bend for (optional) breakfast with the crews. Most are going to a site where he has been many times. He is going to a place he has never been and where WTA is building a new connector trail, thus the name – Future Dirty Harry’s Peak Trail. See here for more interesting information about the trail and work with pictures.
About Dirty Harry’s Peak Trail
Then go to Google Earth and type in: 47.43425, -121.61193 search, with the photos button on. There are good views from this hillside; click on the little photo icons. Zoom out to see the region, just 38 miles from Seattle.
Mt. Si in the background as all the crew leaders lift their hats to Crew Leader College. You can see John in the lower right, sitting on the ground. His glass lenses have the automatic darkening feature in bright sun.
Friday, May 22
For May 21 CPAP. Reported figures. 5 hrs 19 min with AHI=0.38 Events: 3 H. No major mask leaks (max=17 L/min), with SpO2 added, 9 hrs 20 min AHI = 0.21
It is thundering in the hills again. Don’t want any lightning-caused fires.
John left at 5:15 for breakfast near N. Bend, WA with the WTA folks.
I slept in, have honchoed buying the canopy from old time dog friends (haven’t seen in many years) in Moses Lake, to pick up on Monday, Memorial Day. And I have been moving two hoses on our Carpathian walnut trees, using irrigation ditch water on gravity flow. John wants me to move them 4 ft every 2 hours.
Now I need to take my data from the CPAP and Oximeter, enter in my computer for the graphical information, and switch to the stacks of things blocking the back patio door. Much needs out so John can remove the old wood stove, and the new one brought in. The new one will be brought from Yakima and installed by a licensed and accredited team. Hey, it’s only money! Yikes. Nancy’s note: We are saving $800 minimum by having John install the new patio door.
Annie was outside and barked to alert me to someone arriving. I met our neighbor walking down the driveway with a 6.5 # cut of a salmon (front part minus head) he caught yesterday in the Icicle River. That’s a drainage that flows into the Wenatchee River at Leavenworth, north of us. He said it was thanks for the cherries and all produce we give him (but they might be injured from frost this year). Don’t know. It zapped all his and all his flowers, so we are going to share some of our Iris with him for Monday. His mother and others are buried on an elevated bench that we can see from the end of our drive. Others may bring flowers from the Yakama Nation lands south of here.
Below are photos of the storm in Yakima/Selah/Ellensburg last night. Most of the flooding and heavy rainfall was in Selah, and the pictures were taken by residents in all towns, including Moxee. I snagged them from the Internet. The flooding (lower right) is First Street, in Selah, where we just were on Monday.
Heard from John at 4:30 that he is at Hyak and the Interstate is totally stopped all four lanes, we guess from people leaving the Seattle area for points east. As I-90 approaches the Cascade Crest on the west side at Snoqualmie Pass there are 4 lanes heading east. After starting down the east slope, one lane goes away and then another. This 4 lanes to 2 in less than 5 miles is usually not a big deal, but on Fridays of a holiday weekend all 4 lanes fill for miles as folks leave the Puget Sound region. He still made it home by 6:00; only about ½ hour delay.
Saturday, May 23
For May 22 CPAP. Reported figures. 8 hrs 37 min with AHI=0.58 Events: 3 H, 2OA. No major mask leaks (max=19 L/min).
Having trouble again, uploading my SpO2 data. John’s working loading the pickup, and today, sometime, we need to deliver some things to Thorp. He finished and we left a little after 3:00. Below are captures of some of our activities, described beneath the photos.
This is topped by the scene of my visit to the cattle to meet the 14 British Whites–(those white, or black & white, are that breed. The ones with color are a higher % Angus): steers, heifers, cows, and bull, and to view their new irrigation system. The bottom two above, are related to the reason for our visit. Bottom left is their chicken coop (with nesting boxes facing us) that they wanted to add metal roofing over chip-board. The right is the back of our pickup with the sheets of aluminum roofing from our old barn, and an old (but new condition) small refrigerator for their storing eggs. It used to be in my old office on campus, but when I moved office location in 2008, it was no longer needed because we had a departmental refrigerator in our workroom. The refrigerator belonged to me, and we now have no need for it.
Above, top left, are John and Larry, unloading the metal roofing. The top right is of our drive along the Yakima River. The bottom left shows several of the large cumulus clouds filling the valley, and the bottom right is of a Lahar along Hwy 10.
For a more geologic explanation by Nick Zentner, CWU Geologist, check this link: (I had not seen this one before, and it has Tom Tabbert, mentioned in last week’s blog, flying his trike over it, up state highway 10, along the Yakima River we drove along today on our way to Thorp).
Our Lahar
Something else to stress me came in today’s mail – a penalty notification on taxes not paid quarterly – I have to address or pay before June 22. I paid what I thought I owed, but it was messed up from taking out too much money from a tax-deferred mutual fund that threw us into a higher tax bracket and our social security earnings have not had any taxes withheld. [approaching retirement – check on that SS tax thingy!] I hope I can describe to an IRS person what happened that caused the miscalculation and get a reduction on the penalty charge. Oh well, Uncle Sam needs the cash – to waste.
I still need to replace two strings on my violin – or “strangs” on my fiddle – the D and A strings are unraveling.
For dinner, no surprise here, we had baked salmon from the Icicle River.
Nice weather so far today. Big cumulus clouds billowing over the mountains.
Hope your week was fine.
Nancy and John
Still on the Naneum Fan