Life is a combination of magic and pasta.

I called Dad's cell phone several times yesterday and didn't get an answer. It didn't instantly go to voicemail so it was on. No clue why. I felt guilty for not calling the facility to check and then told myself NOT to feel guilty since he's in a safe enough space. But after more than a decade of being the only kid checking on her parents on a daily basis to make sure that they're ok, it's become ingrained. I was finally able to talk to Dad for a few minutes this morning and he said that the day before he did do PT and he had pancakes for breakfast today which he enjoyed.

There's no point in countering Sis's bullshit about "not getting help" and "needing a vacation" since she's always been selfish and bullying with small glimmers of being reasonable now and then. I don't try to talk to the brother since he's the one that stopped responding to me ages ago and he's a douchebag. Both of them married people as self-centered as they are.

I don't know how it's going to go with Dad and at this point, I'm going to just go through the motions and happy face for him for as long as I'm able. When he's gone and the initial dust settles, I don't see myself having anything to do with my siblings. But I won't take the blame or feel guilty for it. Because I've done enough.

I did find something interesting when checking into ancestry and seeing some of those little leaves. There was a newspaper article about Dad from 1950. I texted this clip to my sister saying that I thought she'd find it interesting and left it at that.


Sounds like Dad certainly didn't need BIL's bible study. He had plenty enough of it. I will have to ask if he was one of the ones that was baptized after his four years of study.

State of the Dad:

We were finally able to get him into a rehab place as of a couple of days ago. Not the best rated but not the worst and in a location convenient-ish to Sis and BIL so that's good. They FaceTimed a couple of times when they were able to pop by and last night the old dude was being all emotional and sentimental which I think Sis was a bit freaked out about but covered well (at least to him) but I had a call where he was being this way before so I'm able to go a bit more with the flow. He's definitely feeling his mortality and boy did Sis and BIL ~*~pounce~*~ when Dad suggested he might want to do the just in case getting good with God stuff. Sis got BIL's Dad involved the very next morning so Dad could uh...what is it "accept grace"? I guess that's accepting Hay-zeus as your savior and all that. Hey, as long as that's what he wants, I am not going to object at all. I'm all for whatever gives him comfort. If he somehow gets stronger and changes his mind, I hope they don't get too fussy about it. Or maybe he'll just passively go along with the churchin' for shits and giggles anyway. Not my place to say.

He sat up more today and they even had him walking a little but he has a long way to go. I think getting him into this less clinical setting may help a lot. The PT person asked what his state was before the hip break and since he was walking fine then, that's what they want to aim for. I'm dubious if that's possible but even if they get him mobile with using a walker, I'll consider that a huge win. He ate a better amount of the calorie-packed breakfast this morning but has limitations there. Hopefully they'll also supplement with nutrition shakes since that dude has no meat on his bones.

State of the Me:

The lymph node bump is currently flat though it seems...bruised(?) there. I hope it stays flat, though and I am putting the prescription antibiotic ointment and bandaging it since the skin around it seems kind of scabby. I have my check up with my regular doctor on Tuesday. If it's going to act up again, hopefully it starts before the appointment so I can avoid more fuss. I have quite enough life fuss going on right now, thankyouverymuch.

Since the first nasty heat of the summer is imminent, on a vacation day yesterday (I really need to get better with the "vacation" part of these days off, btw), I food prepped and got a delivery of some prepared things and so my fridge is FULL. I have no excuse not to eat appropriately even though the weather is going to be hot as hell since I have microwave-friendly and cold fresh items ready to go. I sauteed a batch of peppers and onions and am pairing them with some precooked shredded and seasoned chicken and low-carb mini tortillas to have tacos. I had that for lunch and it was really good. I hard boiled about 5 eggs to use in various means or just eat for a protein kick. I cooked up the rest of a box - about 1/3 of a box - of protein rotini pasta and added lemon pesto, marinated artichokes and sliced black olives. For the pasta salad, I didn't add much more since I figured I could vary the ingredients based on mood to keep things fresh so I make sure to eat it all. I have mini mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes, frozen cooked shrimp and some other odds and ends like salad greens to put it on. I also made some half-homemade lemonade. I say half-homemade since I couldn't quite get the flavor to my liking so I squirted in some Crystal Light strawberry lemonade liquid to amp it up a bit.

The weekend is going to have a couple days in the 80s followed by a full week or more in the 90s and near 100 so if I eat down some of my current stores by Sunday-ish and make some fridge room, I may prep some potato salad and some tofu fake "egg salad" and cut up veggies for quick-snacking crudites.

Other miscellany:

Emily texted me this morning that the apartment above her niece's in a house caught fire last night. Catch the video on this new site

YIKES. She slept on the couch at her Mom's house down the street from me and evidently sounds raspy but is ok. She managed to grab her ID, phone and keys on her way out. Glad she was able to get the ID especially since those are a pain in the ass to replace. By the looks of that news video, I have to think most of her belongings are destroyed. The parents of her friend that she was sharing the place with signed the lease so I'm crossing fingers that they thought to get renters insurance. They're going over today to see if anything can be salvaged. If they can rescue any clothing or bedding, I told them to call around to dry cleaners/laundries to see if they have the means to deal with fire-damaged items. When I worked at a dry cleaner/laundry back in college, they had some enzyme cleaner that did take a lot of smoke smell out of clothing and blankets that were otherwise fine. But pillows and padded comforters need to be tossed out since you can't be sleeping with that stuff safely anymore.

I suspect that her Tante Emily will help her out with getting new clothing and items. She does love to shop and loves to gift so her niece has nothing to worry about there.

Well I've been topped off with dread as of yesterday. I got a text from the sister telling me about how the home doesn't just want Dad to get a psych eval, but they want him sent to a MH facility for a while. Personally I just think they aren't trained in dealing with dementia patients but this seems somewhat extreme.

However, something does need to be done because Dad is just like a dog with a bone with his obsession with thinking his neighbor is saying he's going to beat Dad up or kill him and that Dad thinks he's stupid and mean and wants him kicked out. We did get it into his head that they check on everyone constantly so nothing can happen but that doesn't stop him.

No amount of me telling him not to tell others and when he "hears" the guy to turn up his music or put on the ocean sounds CD I got him are convincing him and I think the straw for the facility is that now he just can't seem to control himself when it comes to telling EVERYONE the stories about the guy talking to a woman that used to live there and they came in with guns and have said they're going to bomb the place and he's scaring the other residents.

Every day I either get a call that Dad's happy that they caught him and kicked him out and then the next day that he's mad that the guy is back. Sure Dad's had memory issues for some time but this just seems SO sudden.

Dad wasn't feeling good last night and he told me they told him they were going to take him to get "checked out" tomorrow so he thinks it's his physical health. I don't know if they're going to send his cell phone with him. Either way I have a guilt and uncertain knot in my stomach about it but honestly, I don't think there's another option at this point. They are going to hold his room at the assisted living place for the time being, at least. I hope they can find something to give him or do for him that helps get him back and that the delusions calm down.

EDIT: just talked to Sis and evidently she's the one responsible for getting him assessed so she's hoping we can do alternatives and dodge having anything inpatient done. Fingers crossed. Poor guy.

Got a text from Sis around 8am that the assisted living was sending Dad to the hospital since he's having chest pain and elevated pulse. I got a call from the hospital at 10:30 to clarify information since Sis is a coward and intentionally left me as the medical POA even though the home still contacts her. Dad did know that he was widowed but didn't know his address (not surprising, I wouldn't expect he would) but what's sad is he didn't know his birthday and he also thinks people are coming to visit. I doubt Sis or her husband are and I don't want to get into it with them.

It seems they must not have sent his cell with him this time which is frustrating but it's not like I can do much from here as it is. I'm hoping that it turns out to be minor since he has had afib/palpitation issues for years and that they can get him stabilized and get him back home. He has a care package from me arriving today as it is. Poor old guy.

Even though the floor model La-Z-Boy recliner creaks and has definitely been butt tested plenty (it was cleaned before it was delivered), it's a good thing that I tossed on the clearance item when I purchased my new couch.

The back is yet again being tetchy and I'm resting it plenty to keep it from going out. It's oddly aching mostly on the lower right side like dull kidney pain but my back pain has never been predictable and it does tease higher up. So it's been more comfortable to doze and sleep in the recliner as I can for now.

Emily was going to help me put the AC unit in the bedroom window today but I messaged her that I don't think it's safe right now. Monday is going to possibly get near 90 so when it gets too unbearable to work in there, I'll just close the door most of the way and hang out in the living room. Watch, the kitties will hang out in the stifling hot bedroom.

In other goings on:

- JuneBug had a couple of barfing incidents a couple of days ago but seems ok now. Though boy she pesters me a LOT for snacks in the mornings
- Coworker has stage 2B and is expected to recover well
- Dad's guts are doing better but his delusions are not. They had a sit down with the sister since he keeps asking for the guy that Dad claims "says he's going to break in and kill him" be kicked out. They've tried reassuring him many times that he's safe. I've had to tell Dad the last couple of days that he can tell me about these things but don't tell them since they're not going to kick the other guy out. I leave out that he's really not hearing these things since the logic of the fact that he's hearing both sides of the man's phone calls is lost on him. Not sure how that's going to go.

Feel like death because of course on this hell of a week, Aunt Flo decides to stop by and say hi, kicking in the door and knocking everything off shelves. Bitch.

Dad got discharged yesterday even though he hadn't had a bowel movement. Hopefully the nurse at the assisted living can help him out. He is sounding far better, at least. He also is going to rely on me to screen the menu and food at work. Sure, I have nothing better to do. Why not?

This weekend was not so relaxing. Dad tried calling me when I was grocery shopping Saturday morning and at first I ignored the call since I figured I'd call him when I got home but then he started calling repeatedly. I called him back and he was highly agitated about the usual "they're going to kill me" stuff and I had to talk him down. He was also mad that one of the staff members told him he was having delusions. Yeah, that went over SWIMMINGLY. After that I got 7 phone calls through the day, most of them rehashing the conspiracy theories.

Yesterday I got 9 phone calls which what was added in was him being mad because Sis didn't pick him up for church. No, he didn't really want to go but he'd evidently got dressed up and all. Then they were going to come about 2pm (according to him, but then he wasn't sure about that later) and take him out so he can get his baseball stats thing he wanted and they showed up as he was getting lunch at the facility which was a little after noon and tried to tell him that they were just going to get lunch out (not with Dad) and go home and he was again, mad at that. Dude, she's ALWAYS unreliable. Doesn't help that she texted me right before that asking if his dementia was getting worse (YA THINK?). She claims they're testing him but I'm dubious about that and if nothing else, they need to check his B and D vitamin levels.

Sis and BIL really have no justification for being irritated that Dad was EATING since they are notorious about never showing up on time so he couldn't bank on them getting him FED. Later it seems Sis stopped by to give him printouts about the Reds and straightened up his fridge or something and he was all happy and she's all forgiven. I was a little ticked off at that since they did practically nothing and still get accolades, meanwhile I get call after call after CALL to spike my anxiety.

So there's that.

Next weirdness involves my apartment complex. I occasionally hear my neighbors that are one over and on the first floor fighting, which they did on Saturday, but then I heard noise from another direction in the afternoon and peeked out my kitchen door. Another neighbor down the block was having a loud argument that went on a while where one of them got in their car and peeled off - I watched to make sure my car wasn't going to be damaged. I'd never heard fighting from that place so I was starting to feel that there are some weird vibes all around. Overnight Saturday my neighbors on the other side who are loud sometimes but just kind of "frat boy" loud were bickering. THE HELL IS GOING ON? Then on Sunday the regular fighting neighbors were fighting again and there was an incident in my place where JuneBug got startled by JonJon and she got MAD mad and jumped on him and started BITING which I had to break up before anyone got injured. THEN I started to hear the neighbors that are downstairs and one over on the other side...well...honestly I'm not 100% sure if they were fighting since they're East Asian and sometimes it's not fighting but just loud spirited talking but I wasn't taking any chances and actually poured a line of salt outside that door and lit a scented soy wax candle near my picture of Mom. Things seem to have calmed but if there's anything else to get some calming mojo going for my neighborhood going, I'm all ears.

Oh, spring ants are also back. Lovely. I'm glad that I recently cleaned and mopped the kitchen floor but that never stops them. I put some ant gel outside the door (before the salt line lol) but I might need more in spots that kitties can't get to.

It's Monday, I'm tired and now that Dad got a visit from his favorite daughter, hopefully he's less inclined to call with every thought.

Before I get to my own stuff, Dad update. He was feeling better the last day and a half though he did sound a little gravelly still. But how did I know he was getting better? Because Mr Antisocial was whining about being lonely and had INSISTED that even if he tested negative that he wasn't going to be allowed out, even if Sis came to collect him (no, no one told him this, he's assuming and couldn't be convinced otherwise). lol. Dude, it wasn't even a WEEK yet. Guess with your newfound short memory, 2020 was ages away.

Then he mentioned last night that he ate something (not sure what) out of his mini-fridge and thinks it might have gone bad since he wasn't feeling well. He didn't have a good night and had to call me at 7:45 this morning to tell me he had black poo again. Sigh. Well you're getting over covid which includes not a lot of moving around for days, you possibly ate something bad, and you have a chronically screwed up stomach. While not completely surprising, it would be nice if he (and I) could get a break for a while. I called him around 11 and he was able to eat a little oatmeal for breakfast but was still feeling cruddy and had been sleeping. Crossing fingers that things start to improve again.

So aaaanyway. Last night I caved and signed up for AARP - cheaper than I thought - and tried out a virtual tai chi zoom session with 180 other people. I was only able to do close to half of it before I had to sit down but considering the guy was sounding a bit out of breath, I didn't feel too bad about only managing part of the class. I knew I was out of shape but damn. It's each Friday so I'll keep trying and hopefully can do a little more each time.

I got my exercise in today, though. Down and up the stairs for a trip to HMart to get veggies, tofu and seafood. For some reason the pharmacy wasn't open at 15 minutes past opening time so I went home and dropped off groceries. Then about 20 minutes later it was down and up the stairs to go get the prescriptions (I also parked behind the deli across the street since it's easier to get in and out of...and got pick 6 there heh). Then a few hours later, down and up the stairs to get a package on the front porch that has some glass containers with bamboo lids to replace some beat up plastic ones.

Then the last annoying one. I saw the fedex guy that I knew he had my new meter. He was in the lot so I thought yay! No more stairs. No such luck. I looked out after he left and no package, nothing on the stairs. I looked at the picture on the confirmation email and it was on the middle of some staircase but which one? No clue but I assumed 475 since that's the usual mistranslation of my address. So I gathered my cardboard and put it in the dumpster and nope, not there. I had to backtrack and it was on the staircase BEYOND mine. Idiots.

To give the new meter (thanks vysila for the recommendation) a try, I unpackaged everything and followed the directions to see if it worked and was all nervous. The reading was 139 which I'd had a low-carb wrap sandwich about an hour before so I think that's super good, isn't it? My poor little finger has a bruise. Awww.