45 thoughts on “Our Daily Thread 1-17-20”

  9. Yes, winter can be so beautiful. Often the sunnier the day; the colder the day. We will being hit with snow. I am grateful that the gig at the assisted living place is early enough that we should be able to get home before much of the snow gets here. I used to drive in all the cold and snow, but am grateful when I don’t have to do it now. Still, one cannot avoid it when you live here. Life goes on no matter the weather.

    Thanks for your condolences. I am hoping the weather will be good for the service, which will be over an hour away for us.

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  10. I used to drive in that stuff, also, but not anymore. If the driveway is not clear, I do not go. If the children want to attend church (and they do) they will shovel the driveway (and they do). But that is it. If I do not think the roads are cleared, I don’t go. There is nothing too pressing for me to need to get stuck out there. The snow will melt in a few days or months and until then, we are fine.

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  11. There’s a bell.

    And a statue.

    I was in Philadelphia once, but it was a brief look-see.

    I’m trying to wake up, I have 3 interviews stacked on top of each other in the next hour or so….

    Bye.

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  12. Re Mumsee’s 10:34. If it’s snow, I don’t go.
    In Hendersonville, I had to go up an incline to get out of my driveway. My judgment was based on whether I could get out. If I could make it there, I can make it anywhere.
    When I was working, living in Annandale, Va., if it snowed during the night, I would look out and ask myself, “Can I make it?”
    When I got retirement age, I looked out and asked, “Is it smart”.
    Circumstances changes things.

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  13. Though I never got stuck in snow or slid off the road in the past forty years, I know it is possible. And if it happens, it will necessitate the help of other people. I figure they have better things to do than dig me out of a snowbank.

    I did get the van stuck on the mountain once. I drove backwards to turn around so the car would be ready in a hurry, but the ground was too soft. I worked at it for a while but decided it was not going anywhere. But since I was camping with a bunch of children, I had plenty to do without worrying about that. My dad came by to visit a few days later and showed me how to dig it out. (He had lots of experience from his independent logging days). I know me and my ability to get stuck and need for help to get unstuck.

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  15. Michelle,

    Some things to keep in mind. Independence Hall has been under construction and will continue to be in various degrees thru June. The main areas are mostly reopened, but delays are an issue.

    And a lot has changed. 🙂

    We haven’t been down since they reopened. The last time down we couldn’t even get near Independence Hall due to scaffolding and major renovations. It looks nicer, for sure.

    One of the most important things about visiting another city is the food. Philly has plenty of places that provide food, entertainment, and shops all in one. I like the Reading Terminal Market.

    https://readingterminalmarket.org/

    If you’re heading to Chinatown to eat, and you really should, this is helpful.

    https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/chinese-restaurant-philadelphia-chinatown/

    I recommend the Chinatown Market too. Both Chinatown and the Reading Market are a short distance from Washington Square, Liberty Park, the Mint, Ben Franklin Museum, American Revolution Museum, and numerous others.

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  17. Whew, we’re holding one of the homeless stories, so that helps my day.

    I’m drinking more coffee this morning than I have in a long time. Those first couple phone interviews starting at 7:30 a.m. made me feel like I was underwater trying to think and talk coherently. I am NOT an early morning person.

    Wish I’d spent more time in Philadelphia, it was a whirlwind walking/public transportation tour with a host who lived just outside of town.

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  18. Michelle,

    I don’t know your schedule or if you’ll have free time, but perhaps coffee or lunch in Philly with the J’s would be doable? You’ll only be 60 miles or so from us, and my daughter who suddenly loves all things Asian would love going to the Chinatown Market. Maybe we could even drag Linda and Steve in too.

    But I don’t want to put you out, so only if your schedule allows. Just something to consider. 🙂

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  19. We had some rain (and snow in other areas) last night. Cowboy decided he had to go out before heading for bed so he came back in drenched & with muddy paws. I dried him off with some paper towels. He seemed happy. 🙂

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  20. You know, I have seen a good percentage of America’s natural wonders (Niagara Falls, Grand Canyon, the sequoias, Carlsbad Caverns, both oceans and several of the Great Lakes, Painted Desert, Petrified Forest, Bryce Canyon, the Smoky Mountains, and more), but I’ve seen very few of the manmade historical sites. I have been up in the Sears Tower and I have seen the Gateway Arch, but I have never been to Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, or New York City. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the Golden Gate Bridge (if I have, it was when I was really little). My mom loved museums, so we went to a lot of those as we traveled the country (and I hated most of them), and my mom grew up in Connecticut, but somehow we just never visited any of the cities of real historical interest.

    If I had to choose between national and state parks and natural beauty or the Statue of Liberty and the Liberty Bell and so on, I’d choose the natural beauty. In our travels, we did see zoos in quite a few cities since I think we all liked zoos, and my parents didn’t make the mistake many travelers do of seeing everything but the local sites; I have seen the beauty of Arizona and the Southwest, and with my husband I have visited quite a number of Indiana sites including a good number of our state parks. I’ve been to a majority of the States (mostly skipping the Northwest) and have lived in three of the top 25 cities in three different regions, including two of what are now the top five–top nine at the time I lived in Phoenix. But I never had cause to travel to the “historically important” cities, and have never done so. I would like to see many of their sights, but I have no interest in traveling to get there, getting through the traffic, paying the prices in most of those cities, or staying in their hotels. So I’ll probably never see the Statue of Liberty, Liberty Bell, etc. But then, I’ll likely never see the famous spots in Europe or other continents, either.

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  24. My comment on the FoxNews program I am watching:

    We have already been to the moon. We didn’t find anything up there.
    I’ve said this before: If we discovered gold on the moon, it wouldn’t pay to mine it.

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  25. In order to go to Mars, we need to”.
    . Send an orbiter to collect pictures of the equatorial area. Then map potential landing sites.
    Send a Surveyor type Martian lander to sample the atmosphere, temperature, etc.
    We will need powerful rockets because the Martian gravity is much greater than the moon.
    I think we need to stay home.

    That from a man who did the mapping for the Apollo program.
    I’ve said before. When I gave briefings on that, I showed a picture of the Apollo 12 astronaut. I said he was in his “Lunar Bikini”. Likely the same on Mars. I can imagine the Martian winters. (If Mars is tilted. we don’t know that.)

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  26. I think X may have forgotten that he was supposed to pick up Boy this afternoon for their weekly overnight visit. Half an hour after he should have been here, Nightingale had me text to ask what time he would be here. Half an hour after that (an hour after usual pick up time), he texted that he would be here soon. That was half an hour ago.

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  27. Nightingale has been working on refining her budget, and has determined to be more frugal than usual this year. We were supposed to sit down this morning to go over all our expenses together, but something else came up, so we’ll do it next week. (I’ve already looked at my spending and bills, and written down the current rates I am paying on each one.)

    The thing that came up is that her friend Stephanie was going to go to the community college in her town to sign up for classes, to eventually get a degree in Public Health. But she kept putting it off. So Nightingale said she would go over with her today, since they both had the day off, to make sure she did it, and as “moral support”. She’s a good friend, as well as a good daughter. 🙂

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  28. Chas – How has Elvera been since that conversation the other night? Has she still been remembering who you are? I was crying as I read about her not being sure who you were, and I am praying for you both.

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  29. Talked to my neighbor briefly today, she mentioned she is very perky (usually) in the very early mornings but runs out of “umph” by 8 p.m.

    I told her I’m the opposite, I have plenty of umph at night, just none in the mornings much before 9 a.m.

    Together as a tag team we could maybe put in a decent day.

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  31. The roof portion is done. Wow! So fast they completed the work. Next the gutters and trim, hopefully tomorrow. Now I am thinking the house must be painted. And so it begins. Following in the footsteps of DJ! Next thing you know, we will have to get a freezing dog park, too! And, oh! They found a dead raccoon which explains that smell in the carport that my brother thought was old food in the trap. Sad to consider that the raccoon may have died from a broken heart or separation anxiety.

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  32. Karen, we are fine. Still married to each other.
    She has forgotten all of that now.
    Phos likely knows all about this. But it seems that her mind seems to fail in the evenings.
    Things like forgetting who I am.
    Wanting to go home. etc. I just go along with her as much as possible.
    After that discussion, we went to bed together. Next morning, everything was ok
    I appreciate your prayers. Specifically: I pray that the Lord will give me strength, patience and wisdom to deal with this.
    I just need to be strong enough to care for her. She would hate living in assisted living.

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  33. Michelle, from a starving vegan . . . make sure you check out the Philly Cheese Steak!

    The group doing our roof are from Pennsylvania. Has anyone heard of Power Home Remodeling? They have offices in several different states.

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  34. I wonder what brings on the sundown issues, does lighting do anything to help?

    Janice, you must have a smallish place, it took the guys (a father-son team with a helper or 2?) a couple days jut to tear off the old roof — but maybe you were able to layer yours on the old one, which is a much easier, quicker process. They also did my garage.

    I’m sorry about the raccoon, poor guy. 😦

    House colors! Took me FOREVER to decide on those. I would drive around town and take photos of house colors I liked.

    What color do you have now? Do you have any preliminary ideas?

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  35. I loved my father-son team (from Ecuador) who did the roof and bathroom demo and foundation for me. Very sweet guys and roof was done with city permit & inspections, so all good. And the wife/mom was recovering from breast cancer so they needed the funds for medial bills. They were such hard workers, drove in from afar (east of LA — their rickety truck broke down one day 😦 ) and put in really full days. They were lining up quite a bit of work in our area at the time.

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  36. Janice, it probably died of disease or a fight with the other raccoons.

    Chas, she might not be aware she is in assisted living, if the time ever comes. But I will continue to pray for strength, patience, and wisdom. Same things I ask for.

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  37. Chas – As DJ mentioned, that is called sundowning, and it is common with dementia patients. My theory is that it is due to getting tired at the end of a day, with the mind and memory also getting “tired”, too. It’s harder to think and remember when we are tired. (I’m sure there is a much more medically accurate way to describe what happens. 🙂 )

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  38. Tips for reducing sundowning:
    Plan for activities and exposure to light during the day to encourage nighttime sleepiness. Limit daytime napping. Limit caffeine and sugar to morning hours. Keep a night light on to reduce agitation that occurs when surroundings are dark or unfamiliar.
    ____________________

    Cowboy actually has some of the ‘sundowning’ symptoms (seen in his occasional night-time pacing habit) and I’ve taken to leaving a couple lights on all night now, one in the living room, another in the spare bedroom (which illuminates the hallway somewhat). The melatonin dose the vet has him on has helped.

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  40. X finally showed up two hours later than the usual time, and almost an hour after he said he would be here “soon”. My assumption is that he had forgotten all about it, then my text asking when he would pick up Boy reminded him (when he finally saw it), and he had to scramble to get himself together and then drive the half hour ride over here.

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  41. If the court makes him pay all he actually owes her, X would have to pay Nightingale several thousand dollars. That’s from the previous court-ordered child support he didn’t pay (before he went on disability, and the state started paying her some each month), and the half of the sports and activity registrations he was supposed to pay. We doubt she’ll ever see that money, though.

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  42. I watched Fox News’ Impeachment Coverage this afternoon where I learned 2 things.

    1. I should already be dead, having fallen getting in or out of the shower.

    and

    2. I really need a Safe Step Walk in Tub if I want to survive old age.

    Everything I learned came from one commercial played repeatedly over 3 hours.

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  43. I’d certainly love to see you all, but this is my daughter’s trip, so I need to say I’ll see you next time.

    Assuming she gets in, I’ll be visiting Pennsylvania a lot more often and will have free time to meet you all.

    Thanks for thinking of us!

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  44. Chas said: <i.Phos likely knows all about this. But it seems that her mind seems to fail in the evenings.

    The context makes it clear he means Elvera in the second sentence. But see how taking things out of context could make one think Roscuro is suffering dementia at her young age?

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