For Good

Okay then.

Dave and I had lunch with my mother and brother on Saturday. We went for Chinese food. My guts are still unhappy, so I didn't gorge myself nearly as much as I wanted to sadly, but I haven't had Chinese food for a month, so it was nice to have some of our usual feast. A waitress who we really like but who had been gone for a long time was suddenly back. She explained in her version of English that she had been traveling to New York and Taiwan to visit her children and grandchildren. For the last two or three months, the restaurant had made do with her replacement, who was friendly enough but not the same.

After lunch, I went with my mother to an indoor flea market. She had gone with my aunt a couple of times and wanted to go and check it out again. There were some interesting things, but nothing that I wanted to buy to bring home to our crowded little casita. If I had more room, I would collect some antique-y,"fancy" things (little figurines, glass candy dishes) that remind me of my grandmother's house. But I don't have the room for them now. Five hundred square feet will force some semblance of minimalism on you, let me tell you. And I am grateful for that, certainly.

Sunday, Dave spent most of the day with his mother. They went for a concert and to lunch. Because she can't drive long distances anymore, he drives out to pick her up, brings her back for the concert and lunch, and then drives her back home. It's a long day, but he doesn't go every week, so it's fine.

While he was gone, I slept in, did some work that I had to do to prepare for my first day of work, and putzed around. I did a bit of improvisational sewing with some red and white cotton, making a version of traditional red-and-white quilts. I have purchased a lot of red and white fabric in the last year or so, but of course there are so many shades of red and white that none of the stuff in my stash matches. I have to laugh. I don't notice these things until they're right next to each other. (The white is especially tricky. How many shades of white do quilters really need?!)

After Dave returned, we went out to visit Paul in the nursing facility. He was watching Blazing Saddles on TV and I think he wanted to finish watching the movie, but was too polite to say so. While we were there, Judi and Paul's daughter came in and so we chatted, leaving Paul to watch the comedy. Dave and I didn't stay too long--maybe forty-five minutes?--since we had to come home and feed the dogs.

Paul is not progressing with his physical therapy and so there was some discussion of where to move him to next given that fact and also since his insurance is about to run out.. Judi and Paul's daughter found an assisted living place for him to go to in a week or two. Apparently, once the insurance runs out on a given facility, there is a 48-hour grace period before the patient has to be moved. Our insurance system and our extended care system suck, but Paul and Judi have voted republican all their lives, so this is what they signed up for. I wonder if they recognize that or if the disconnect is so complete that they don't even consider it.

Sunday we also had to run out to the grocery store. We went by Whole Foods and picked up some things. I'm stressing a bit over what to take to work to eat. It'd be fine over an eight or nine hour shift to have a meal and a snack, but over a twelve-and-a-half hour shift, that wouldn't be enough. So it becomes a meal and two or three snacks. Or a couple of meals and a snack. And, since the facility where I'm working is not in the main hospital, and half my shift will eventually be overnight, there is no option to seek out an open restaurant or visit the hospital cafeteria. I'm hoping there's a way to get some hot water to make coffee. I know there is a small fridge to store food, but one of the admin types said that food routinely disappears from them (a hazard of relying on poorly paid techs, perhaps?). I'm sure the night crew has a workaround the lack of food options, but I'm starting out in the dark here, so I'll be carrying a bunch of food with me at first.

Back to Sunday late afternoon: Dave also had a list of chores he wanted to get done Sunday afternoon, including scooping dog poop and mowing the lawn. It's been rainy recently, so neither of those tasks is particularly appealing when things are soggy. However, we had had a lovely clear day and so it was doable. While he was doing yardwork, I did some housework (laundry, dishes, etc.). For dinner, we had roasted vegetables and I had chicken and Dave had Quorn. (Tonight will be a repeat of the roasted veggies with quinoa and maybe tofu for some protein.)

Also on tonight's agenda: A possible trip to Target and I have to hem my scrub pants. (They're a few inches too long and drag on the ground if I don't fold them up.) It'll be nice to use my sewing skills for good.