On Our Own and a Serendipity!

I guess you can say we have graduated from dialysis training. This morning the nurse had me do one more exchange...a 1/4 of a dialysis treatment. When it started the nurse handed me some papers to take home and also a test! Well, here is where the serendipity in tonight's title comes in! Last night I had one of those nights, again, where I sleep for several hours and then wake up and my body thinks that it has had a good nap so I can't get back to sleep. This is a good time to read. I decided that I would go looking for more of the PDF manuals from our dialysis company. I have been saving the manuals for those from Fresenius dialysis for his machine as PDF files on my iPad...that way I can easily do a word search when I want to find out something specific. I did find another quick reference for Woody's dialysis so set it up as a PDF file and then read through it. I still wasn't sleepy so decided to make one more search and here is the "serendipity"...I found a test for Fresenius Dialysis Care...with all the correct answers circled. I decided that it was worthy of studying...just in case. I read through the whole test...probably twice. And, guess what...that was the test that I was handed this morning! it was just a happen chance, as I didn't know that I was going to be given a test, and I didn't go looking for a test...it just landed in my lap so to speak! It definitely took the stress off of taking a test! Once Woody's partial partial dialysis treatment was finished we were on our way home. I did have something happen when setting Woody's up this morning that the nurse said had only happened one other time since he had been working there for more than two years. I had him give me a manual drain bag...just in case...he said that it shouldn't be needed but that if it made me feel better..! We have had so many storms blow through here in the last few days that it is definitely a possibility of a power outage...and I didn't want to take any chances! We had another patient line blockage warning today, too. It took three retries to get it back going. I hope that we sleep tonight...but not so soundly that we don't hear alarms on the machine! The nurse came after lunch and got our machine all set up with Woody's info and connected to a modem that will send data directly to the center...guess they can keep an eye on us that way! After he got all that done, he had me get the machine all set up for tonight's exchanges. All I have left to do is connect him to the machine and go through a few more steps, then the machine should take over and not need our attention till morning. We will see if that is possible! Will let you know tomorrow how things go tonight and also how the BIG delivery goes tomorrow! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! (I hope this blog post makes sense. I went back to look at something and found entire sentences that made no sense...the iPad had substituted the words it wanted me to use! Hope this makes sense. The way this format works, it is very hard to go back to check things...and, if you find a mistake it is hard to correct!)

Another busy day

I haven't stopped much today. I got up...well, I did sleep in a bit later than usual...just because I could and because I had one of those nights when I slept hard for four hours or so and then woke up and then it was like I had had a good nap and wasn't sleepy enough to go back to sleep...and..."things" started running through my head. I read for a little while, played a couple of games of solitaire on the iPad, then got to thinking about Woody's dialysis and decided that I would read through the manual for the dialysis cycler machine...figured that would put me to sleep. But I read quite a bit of it before finally getting back to sleep around 5am. Woody hadn't eaten breakfast when I got up so I made him pancakes. I got a call from the public library that some books that I had put on hold last night were ready for me to pick up. I arranged a time to get them. I decided that I would include other errands that I needed to run in the library trip. I picked up the books, then made a stop at Joanne's to get one item (first time I had been in there since the before the pandemic). I considered going to Hobby Lobby, as our new Tullahoma store just opened this week, but I decided that it would be less crowded in Joanne's and that I will check out Hobby Lobby at another time. Dollar Tree was next. I had hoped to find antibacterial hand soap in a pump bottle...but they only had refill size and I needed the bottle with the pump. Then it we on to Walmart. It seemed like whatever I looked for either they didn't have or that they had put it in a different place! I found Clorox over on the far wall just as you go into the garden shop...why it would be there I have no idea...I was just glad to find it...and the kind that says that it kills 99.9% of germs. I finally gathered together what I could find and then stood in line quite a while waiting to check out. Since coming home I have hardly sat down...I have been cleaning. Well, I did sit down one time with the plans to call Cheryl (my sister), but found myself waking up a while later...so I did manage to fit in a little nap. Woody got to watch a little of the Cardinals' baseball game today as the featured game had a rain delay. I think that Woody is enjoying a day off from all our comings and goings of the last two weeks. Hopefully those comings and goings will slow down a bit after Monday. We will have to check in periodically at the dialysis center, but not as often as we have been...hopefully no more than once a month. Woody was glad to get the books that I picked up at the library as they were for him and he had completed his last library book last night. He started in reading on one of them right away. Be safe. Be well! Be cautious!

Turning Into a Hospital!

More supplies arrived today...an IV pole, a scale so we can keep accurate records of Woody's weight, a small scale to hang on the IV pole to weigh the drain bag in case we have to do the manual type of dialysis, a blood pressure machine, a wireless modem so they can get statistics wirelessly, a heating pad to warm the solution if we do the dialysis manually. Nathan came over a little while ago and inwhosed him all that we have received thus far. His eyes got rather big when I showed him the boxes that we will supposedly receive 69 of. We got the call this afternoon as to the 4-hour window that they will deliver the rest on Tuesday. I guess that dialysis training went fairly well this morning. When I was putting the "cassette" into the machine, I was sure that it snapped in but as I started to shut the machine's door, the entire cassette (which consists of many loops of tubing and connectors) fell right out and landed on the floor. Anything that hits the floor must be thrown out. But, again, a good reminder to me that I have to throw it away and not use it. There are just so many "little" rules that are major! I will just be glad when we have the first night under our belts...when we have done it by ourselves. I know in my head that it won't be too long into this that it will all come as second nature since we do it every night! We are supposed to talk to the nutritionist Monday morning. It is still overwhelming and I am extremely tired at the moment. It is about time to go change the dressing on the surgery site where the catheter tube was placed. Still working on doing some more cleaning. I put away some more of Woody's clothes in the drawer that I cleaned out the other day. I do believe that Woody is feeling a little better, at least, as far as his nausea is concerned. He is still very weak. The lest effort still wears him out. But we have to realize that he has yet to receive a full dialysis treatment. That first full treatment will happen Monday night and into Tuesday morning...hopefully while he sleeps. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Busy Day Off

Have you ever seen this style of barn? This is a bank barn. It is built into the bank and accessible from two levels. We also call this our UT Barn as it has an orange "T" on it and around here that equals University of Trnnessee. I read about a bank barn in one of my books a while back so had to look up what the style was and why it was called that. Then low and behold if we didn't stumble upon one on one of our barn photo trips. This is one of those days that I am really tired and have to look back and decide what all in have done. Cooking wise I made sour dough blueberry muffins. Then mid morning I made a recipe that Woody had been wanting—Cantonese Spare Ribs. And, he actually enjoyed them. A lot of times lately when he asks me to make him a certain recipe it doesn't taste as good to him as what he expected it to taste. But this time the recipe came up to his expectations. I also put in a call to Woody's kidney doctor. We need to get him to reevaluate his blood pressure meds—now that he is on dialysis and has also lost a significant amount of weight. The nurse I needed to talk to we on another call so I was told she would call me back...well, I am still waiting for that call! Our deliveries began happening a little after noon...first UPS brought us some of the supplies that we will need prior the BIG shipment next week. We are still lacking some things that we will need. After I blog, I am going to make a list of things that we received today and that we still need prior to doing his first dialysis treatment at home on Monday night. a little after UPS delivered, a FedEx truck pulled u and delivered two rather heavy boxes...not that some of the boxes in the first shipment weren't heavy! The FedEx delivery was the dialysis machine (the cycler) and the rolling cart to put it on. I got the cart put together and the machine on it and then rolled it into the family room. I plugged it in and turned it on for the first time to make sure that it started up (the nurse requested that we do this to make sure that it would come on). And, it did so that task is done! Today we got two boxes of solution (which will be the majority of the BIG order next week). On the bottom shelf in the family room closet I was able to place the boxes side by side and there is room for one more to slide in next to those. There are three strengths of solution. We have to make the decision each night as to what strength he needs! We only got two of the strengths as the higher strength isn't often used. And, at the moment I think that Woody will be using one bag of the lower strength and one bag of the middle strength each night. Each box just has two bags of solution in them...enough for one dialysis session...reason that we have to have so many for a month! I think that all we will be able to get on that bottom shelf is six boxes. And, I don't want to put them on a higher shelf or I won't be able to lift them off! On the shelf above the solution boxes I placed what they call the cartridge...it goes into the cycler machine and has all the connector tubes hanging off of it. We received ten of those today...I will be able to stack a few more on top of the ones that I have on that shelf...but not many more. So the rest will have to be stored someplace else. I "think" that the living room is going to be getting a lot of these boxes...some of the solution boxes I plan to put on the fireplace hearth. Anyway, I have done my share of lifting and hoisting items today. I am also into deep cleaning the bathrooms...shower curtain came down today in our bathroom and I washed it in the washing machine with towels that needed to be bleached. Something of interest: Did you realize that he no-splash bleach isn't the strength of regular bleach and that it isn't strong enough to disinfect? Something that I have read...been trying to check it out and make sure that it is true...have found it stated like that in several places. I do know that I felt like that type of bleach didn't work as well as the old-fashioned bleach that I used to get...but just figured that it was just me thinking that...but perhaps there was a reason that I felt that way. If anyone else knows anything about this let me know! The other day when I was trying to buy bleach I could only find the low-splash so I skipped getting it. I am going to have to venture out and get some as I am about out of my last bottle of old-fashioned bleach. Tomorrow we will head back for more dialysis training. Oh, boy! I will be glad to not have to go...but I also have to gulp that when we don't have to go we will be on our own! I say that, but there is a 24-hour help-line that we can call if we have problems. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Smoother Sailing Today

Getting closer to the culmination of our training. Everything went pretty well today...no malfunctions. It's just a long time to sit there! I think that we will be very happy to be doing them at home over night...at least I hope that we will be happy! We were at the dialysis center from 9am to a little after 2pm. We came home and Woody sat for a few minutes and the had to turn right around and head to his TN Oncology appointment. It looks like he won't be going here for injections anymore since the dialysis space ter has taken over his anemia shots. They will give him vitamin B-12 in another form. Maybe that will be one less medical appointment for us to keep up with. Tomorrow the dialysis machine and the cart that it sits on is scheduled to be delivered. Friday a partial shipment of supplies is to arrive and then Tuesday the BIG ORDER is to arrive. I had to call and confirm our address and phone number to the folk who are sending the BIG shipment. The lady told me that the person who is delivering it will also come in and help me put it away! All good and well...but do I really know where it is ALL going to go?!?! Tomorrow I will wait for the delivery and keep cleaning and getting ready for Monday's first day of dialysis at home. Trying to imagine in my head what our schedule will be in our new normal! One thing I am glad is that the dialysis will take place during the night...that is IF Woody can sleep during it! It will be nice to have the daytime hours be as normal as possible! That's what I see as a big plus in this type of dialysis...doing it at home and doing it while we sleep. We'll see if it is still appealing once we are doing it daily! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Patient Line Block!

We,re moving right along with the dialysis training...closing in on the end of the time at the dialysis center and getting ready to start the home dialysis treatments. Supplies will start being delivered on Thursday...the dialysis machine and the cart that it sits on. Then Friday we are to get a partial shipment. This coming Tuesday is the day for the BIG shipment. Monday is the last day for training at the center. We will be there for the morning. Then our nurse will come by the house to help us get set up. I think that his first complete treatment will be Monday night if things go as planned. I got everything set up fairly easily this morning. And things went well until we got a message that the patient line was blocked. I knew to check for kinks, etc. it took both the nurse and myself to finally get it going again. And, things went along fine until the final drain. I realized that it was progressing just too slowly. You can track the amount of fluid drained on the screen. Usually at the first it is very free flowing and comes out quickly...not this time...it went v e r y s l o w l y until it, again, gave the warning that the patient line was blocked. I worked for a while looking for kinks...after the third or forth warning, I called in the nurse. We had Woody stand up and wiggle around a bit, but to no avail. We finally decided that it was time to abandon the machine and hook up for a manual drain. We did get one notice about the cartridge and that made the nurse decide that it was a problem with the cartridge and not Woody's line or the machine. We got the manual drain going and it drained quickly. Once that got going the nurse opened up the machine to find the cartridge leaking all over the place. I'm glad that this happened to me the first time while we were there so I had some backup to figure out what to do. I had just asked the nurse this morning what to do if electricity went out in middle of treatment and his answer was switch to manual dialysis. So I knew the direction to go. The nurse said that he tries to make the machine malfunction one time during training...he just didn't have to make it do it this time. Machine malfunctioned all on its own! I guess I have passed. I signed off on a whole lot of things today as had the nurse. Looks like we just have tomorrow, Friday, and Monday left to train at the center. Today is our first grandchild's birthday. Happy 27th birthday to Erin Elizabeth! My how time flies!!! It seems strange to realize that we have been grandparents for over a quarter of a century!!! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

First Day on Dialysis Machine

For a change I can post a photo that I took on the day I took it! I wonder how long Blogger will allow me to use the old way! Aw you. This lets you see Woody all hooked up and the type of machine that will soon reside at our house...along with 60 boxes of supplies! The machine makes it much easier to do than the manual dialysis that we did all last week. Today the nurse walked us through and we watched. Tomorrow I will "get" to do the connecting and disconnecting, etc. with the help of instructions on the machine's screen and our nurse talking me through the process. With the machine a person only has things to do prior to the dialysis and then connecting. The machine does all the draining and filling and keeping track of amounts, times, etc. pretty nifty. Then after the machine is finished with the last drain a person takes over again. Woody still hasn't perked up yet...but he also hasn't received a full dialysis yet either. He won't have a full dialysis until we are doing it at home due to the length of time that it takes. The way this is supposed to work is that we will hook Woody up prior to him going to bed and then he can sleep through the night and in the morning I will do the final steps. I do hope that he will be able to sleep during it. The machine worked very well today...it pulled off all the fluid that it put in plus some...good for the first time. I also finished reading the manual and answering a ton of questions. I was given the manual to bring home...it has a wealth of information in it...it just needs a good index...hard to find things...maybe I will note the pages of info that I think that I might need most. But that can wait...a bit...my brain is on overload! This is like a crash course on tons of important information that you might need to know! And, at the moment a lot of that info is just spinning around in my head. Hopefully it will settle down and be filed in correct places in my brain! It's pretty intense information! Today Woody got an anemia shot at the dialysis center. That will be done there now. I came home to check with TN Oncology to see if he still will go there for his B-12 shot, etc. They said "yes" so I had to reschedule his appointment as it conflicted with our dialysis training time. He will now go after he finishes dialysis on Wednesday. I had to cancel/postpone his dermatology appointment that was for tomorrow...again...it conflicted with our dialysis training time. We will wait to reschedule that till we are settled into a dialysis schedule at home and also, hopefully after he is feeling a bit stronger. Lots of juggling going on in our household...wrong Dorrell household for juggling! The nurse did order all our supplies this morning. The suppliers will let us know in a couple of days when we can expect delivery. I can hardly wait...ha! Today I pulled out our old kitchen wastebasket that I was using in the laundry room. I'm going to get it cleaned up as we have to have a large one to throw away supplies. Still lots to do to get ready. But by the time I get home from the training, all I want to do is sit in my chair and nap! I am so glad that this daily trip to the dialysis center will soon be behind us and we can stay home most of the time once again. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious! An aside: I am so glad to be able to post photos once again!

Sunday Extra

Sunday is usually my day of rest from the blog, but felt like blogging just because...just because I can once again post photos...so found one from one of our barn trips of a church. We "went" to church today via Facebook Live...just like we have been doing since March. Our church continues to have drive-in church or livestream or Facebook live. We continue to shelter at home for most things and at the moment it is very nice that we are able to "go to" church this way. As Woody doesn't need to be with lots of others nor does he really feel like going. Going anywhere takes so much effort on his part that it wears him out. After church, we had lunch. Later in the afternoon I decided that it was time to do the last rearranging on the shelves in the back of the coat closet in the family room. I rearranged a bit in the toy closet that is under the stairs making room for the games on the shelves in there. That freed up a wide shelf at the back of the family room closet...should hold at least a few of those 60 boxes that will be arriving sometime in the near future! I also put some things up on the very top shelf in that closet as the top shelf wouldn't be very easy to get dialysis supplies down from. I think that comes close to clearing three shelves in there. Should help some! After that I came upstairs to rest and read for a while...did more resting than reading! Now I guess I will go down and see if Woody is wanting anything for supper. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Look What I Found!

I noticed the other day that there was a place to tap that would revert to "legacy" form of blog. There is a notice that says that before long they will move everyone to the new form...but till then...I will revert! I am a happier camper! Of course this one still isn't the original as I can not put in paragraphs. Woody hasn't felt the greatest today. He got up and felt nauseated and then it was a long time till he felt like eating. Eventually he felt better and he has tried the salad that I made him yesterday. He asked me to make it. But he said that it didn't taste quite as good as he thought it would. But he still seemed to enjoy it at least some! Probably the favorite thing that he has eaten today was a bowl of ice cream. He even got up enough energy to dip his own...probably because he didn't think that I gave him enough!?! I have continued to work on getting things ready for our big 60 box shipment. I am slowly but surely clearing the shelves that are in the back of the closet in the family room. I also cleared out a drawer in the downstairs bathroom. I had stored stenciling supplies in there...one of my craft interests of days gone by. I wasn't ready to get rid of those supplies so I cleared out a drawer upstairs that also had craft supplies in it. I threw a lot away from both drawers...what I kept all fit in one drawer. I still can't wrap my brain around receiving 60 boxes! The nurse did tell me that this will be the biggest shipment...that after this one it will just be things that we run out of. This shipment will include things that we will only need one of during his entire at home dialysis. It will include things like an IV pole, the machine that will do his dialysis over night, supplies...like gauze and tape and gloves and...you get the picture. I guess we should find out on Monday what day this shipment will arrive, as the nurse plans to order our supplies on Monday. I cleaned off one of the desks in the family room and got it ready for current supplies...those that we need to clean where the tubing goes into his abdomen. I did that nursing duty for the first time last night and will do it each evening until they declare him healed...which they said takes 4 to 6 weeks. I spent quite a bit of time today messaging Woody's doctor's at Vanderbilt and his personal care physician to let them know that he has started on peritoneal dialysis. I also told the pharmacist when I picked up one of Woody's prescriptions today. The dialysis manual that I am reading during our training said to do those things. Our pharmacist said that she was going to have to learn more about peretoneal dialysis so she would what meds were okay and what weren't. She was a little concerned about the antibiotic that I picked up today. That is the prescription that he was given due to his bad infection early last year. The infection that makes him have to take this antibiotic for the rest of his life. We will let the kidney team and his infectious disease doctor decide if this one is okay to continue on. The infectious disease doctor is one of the doctors that I messaged today. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Our first week of dialysis training is complete! And, I think that today went very well. I suggested to the nurse first thing that I do everything the way we did yesterday, but this time I wanted to read the instructions myself as I went along. And, that worked so much better than me following what he told me to do. I did discover something that there was another sheet of directions to finish off the manual dialysis that I hadn't seen before...26 more steps! He had given me instructions to read but not those and so when he started telling me to do those things yesterday they were totally foreign to me since I hadn't seen them before. At least it gave me a reason in my mind as to why I was so confused at the end of the day yesterday. The nurse shortened the day for us today because it is Friday and he only had us use one bag of the dialysis solution and we were home before noon. Monday we will start learning about the machine that he will be using at home. What we have been doing, manual dialysis, is only used in emergency situations...no electricity or malfunction of the machine. We have to know how to do this "just in case." Woody got a new throw from the dialysis company. He was very happy to receive that as he is always cold! It is bright lime green and a very nice size. I am attacking "his room" (the family room) this weekend...everything needs to be super clean in the area that the dialysis takes place. So I have been attacking small areas at a time. Today got a desk cleaned off and dusted well and wiped off with disinfectant wipes so I can place some supplies on it. First supplies we were given today...those I need to change the bandage and clean around the area that the tube enters his abdomen. This job has been turned over to me..the non nurse who has been put on nurse duty! I will "get" to do that for the first time tonight. I have been shown how. I guess it is time for me to go check on my patient and see if he is hungry for a little supper. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Our day off has been quite filled. I got a call early this morning that the kitchen cabinet guy was coming by to complete his part: a new drawer front. The original was a bit warped and didn't close correctly. The new one was a great match and now the work is complete on the items that I had asked them to take care of just prior to things shutting down earlier in the year. Nathan and Graham did a couple of "Sonny-do" jobs. Graham did a recall on our car! We had gotten a letter that gave instructions on checking the work that had been done on a previous recall. Ours checked out that it had been done correctly. Nathan fixed a dry wall problem in our laundry room. After lunch, I went to the grocery store. Oh, and, Elijah trapped his 51st squirrel today! I did finish paying him for his first 50 this morning. I pay every five squirrels! Woody is going to get a treat in a few minutes...his first bowl of ice cream in more than two years! We decided since they haven't given us any specific instructions for what he is and isn't to eat that he can have a treat or two while we await them telling us! Plus he needs to eat something to fatten him up a little! Wonder how tomorrow will be for me remembering all the steps to hook him up and unhook him, etc! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Squirrel #50 is down in the records! And, Elijah has earned $50 trapping squirrels this summer! The 50th was trapped while Woody and I went through our 2nd day of dialysis training. This time I did al the steps with the nurse reading them to me. Still very confusing and I went away from the center with my brain muddled! I only made one mistake that took some correcting on the nurse's part. I turned the dial too far...guess that mistake will make me be sure not to do it again...part of training...I guess! Woody continues to lose weight...which is partly water weight but not all...he is looking pretty skinny! I think that he is less nauseated the last two days. But he is still really tired and weak...walking any distance is very difficult for him. We have the day off from dialysis training tomorrow...probably just long enough for me to totally forget what I learned today. I left the center with my brain muddled. Like most things, I'm sure that eventually it will make sense! We watched two videos and started reading the manual that has questions to answer after each section. A lot is common sense but ther are some questions that don't make sense and I don't remember reading about. It's like being back in school and the teacher throws in trick questions! The nurse said that we didn't have to read the first part of the manual and then when the sections didn't deal with the questions being asked I looked at first part and that was where the answers were. So I read through that too. So, I guess it is "school back in session" for us! I mainly rad the manual and then I read the questions outloud and we both answered them. Woody is getting the hang of it. But really I'm not sure that he could do all this by himself. He just isn't mobile enough currently to gather supplies and go back and forth to wash his hands, etc. Well we are both putting our feet up the rest of the evening! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

I'll start with some statistics...last night was my 3900 blog! And, yesterday Elijah trapped his 49th squirrel of the summer! And, today we start with #1 dialysis treatment. We were ther from 9am to 2pm...not quite as long as was indicated in the literature. He really only had a half dialysis treatment as a dialysis treatment consists of 4 cycles and today he had 2. Today's type is the manual which we will only have to do when other machine malfunctions or electricity is out. Today we just watched the nurse do all the connections, etc. Tomorrow I will start having to do it with the nurse's guidance. Oh, boy! At this point the peritoneal form of dialysis seems to be working...what went in came back out plus a little more...all good signs. So we survived the first day! We were ready to take our masks off when we got to the car...that's a long time to wear a mask! It was good to get home. Woody sat on the front porch and watched the birds for a while after getting home...a rest stop between the car and his recliner! My tooth extraction isn't giving me any trouble today...thank goodness! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

I have so far survived my ordeal of the day: having a tooth pulled. I got a call this morning that the office had a cancelation and that I could come an hour early. One way to look at that was one one hour less of anxiety! I was finished about the time of the original appointment. I have pretty much stayed in my recliner most of the rest of the day. So have stayed real still, but so far the bleeding hasn't subsided and I have about gone through the gauze they gave me. I went next door to see if they would make a mercy run to the pharmacy, but they didn't have to because they had a lot of gauze left from Esther's oral surgery. So I am well supplied. Now to get this so I won't have to go to Woody's first dialysis treatment with a mouthful of gauze. Just imagine being understood from behind a mask with a wad of gauze in your mouth! That should be reason to smile and/or giggle! So one thing marked off of our medical appointment list. Tomorrow Woody has his first dialysis treatment and we have our first day of dialysis training and Nathan goes for an ultrasound to see if he has gall bladder problems. Tomorrow is a two-for day! Be safe! Be wrll! Be cautious!

Woody's had a restful Saturday. At the moment he has a baseball game on tv. He's coming upstairs in a minute to read about the St. Louis Cardinals' games today. They were one of the teams that had Covid 19 so had to not play quite a few games once the baseball season finally started. Today has been a big cooking day for me. I did a rack of spareribs in the convection oven. I skinned and boned several chicken breasts. Put that meat in the freezer except for the chicken tenders. I air fried the chicken tenders so Woody can have them sometime this coming week. And, I made liquid gold (aka chicken stock). A load of wash is going and I am going to read for a while. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Woody's only medical contact for today was a call from a representative of the dialysis clinic. My medical call was a reminder of a dental appointment on Monday to have a tooth pulled...oh, boy? My sour dough concoction of the day was sour dough corn bread. It definitely had a different taste. I enjoyed it, but it didn't appeal to Woody...though not much appeals to him these days. We have high hopes that dialysis starting will soon stop him feeling nauseous. He has lost quite a bit of weight. I am blogging prior to messing up my hands making meatballs. I'm planning to bake them in the oven this time...hopefully less messy than cooking them on top of the stove. I put making them off till the sun went down to try to have the kitchen a bit cooler. The convection oven really heats up the kitchen. Took a few bird photos today. We have goldfinches visiting the garden with the gone-to-seed cone flowers...reason we let them go to seed. The garden isn't at its prettiest at the moment, but the birds are loving the seeds! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Be careful what you say! This morning Woody made the statement: "What no doctor appointments today?!?" and the phone rang! It was his kidney doctor's office requesting that he come and have lab work and then go to the hospital for a chest X-ray. So two hours later he pulled back into our driveway and just sat in the car because his energy was used up and he was enjoying the warmth! Then he sat another long time on the front porch before he made it back in to his recliner! He has hardly stirred since! While he was gone I took advantage of "his space" in the family room being vacated and I cleaned really well around his chair and under his chair, etc. That was a good job done. My only trip out today was to the public library to pick up a book that we had requested some time back. Woody and I both want to read this one. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Title blogging isn't all that great! If I "happen" to make a mistake or the iPad happens to change a spelling on me, there isn't anyway to go back and correct except to delete most of what I have already written. So...giving you the reason that mistakes aren't corrected! I started out the day in the kitchen...making Sour Dough English muffins. I did half the work last night and then finished them up this morning. Quite good! I froze most of them. Only left out a couple as temptations! Before I got them finished, we received s call from the kidney clinic telling us that Dr. O, Woody's nephrologist, wants Woody to start dialysis this coming Tuesday. So the start day is now on the calendar. I'm wondering how long after starting dialysis till he is feeling some better than he is currently. While the English muffins were rising I roasted a pan ful of beautiful red peppers that a friend gave us. So I have lots of peppers in the freezer all peeled and deseeded and ready to be made into Woody's "catsup" or in some other recipe. The kitchen has looked like a tornado went through for most of the day! I also got out the blender and finely chopped the basil that I have had drying for several days. Then I attacked the kitchen and it looks much better! Today is Nathan's and Kathy's 20th anniversary. Happy Anniversary! Nathan was wise and married in a year that every year after it tells him how many years they have been married! Smart thinking!? Do you think he planned it that way? Doubt it very much! As I get ready to end tonight's blog with my "be" sayings, I think about Melany and many others who are heading back to school tomorrow! Definitely: Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Looks like Woody is the model patient...perfect blood pressure, healing great, flushing went better than perfect...they got more out than they out in? Sounds like a report of someone in great health! Too bad that isn't the case! The nurse at dialysis indicated that he didn't think that it would be long till dialysis begins. Tomorrow he sees the surgeon. I made a new recipe this afternoon: grape pancake syrup. We had gotten some grapes that we didn't care for the texture of so I looked for something to do with them. We'll see if he likes them made into syrup when he has his French toast in the morning. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

A bit different activity for Monday: I went to the grocery store...usually part of my every other Saturday routine, but changed the routine since Melany and Erin paid us a visit on Saturday. Grocery shopping wears me out, but I have managed to get another sour dough loaf rising and made Woody a squash casserole for supper. Squash was something that sounded good to him. A friend brought us yellow squash today and Nathan had given us a zucchini and a couple of tomatoes and those along with some onion made up the squash medley sauté/bake. Woody still doesn't have much energy...don't know if still from the surgery or just that his kidney function is worsening. We go tomorrow to dialysis center to have his bandage changed and line flushed. He sees the surgeon on Wednesday. Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Sunday=church and bread baking. I got up this morning and got to work on the sour dough bread dough that I had refrigerated over night. It took a bit of coaxing, but I finally got it to cooperate and got a beautiful loaf of sour dough bread on into the afternoon. A good cooking project on a Sunday morning...by the time church started, it was into its rising time. I also made a loaf of oatmeal bread. Both very good. I shared half of each with Nathan and Kathy and family. I made myself a grilled cheese on the oatmeal bread for supper. Woody is waiting until the morning as food isn't sounding the best at this point in the day. He has had a restful day...of doing pretty much nothing but resting!

We had visitors today. Melany and Erin spent part of the day with us. Melany wanted to make one more visit here before she starts back to school. Once she is in school face-to-face...well, mask-to-mask with the students she will be limiting her visits since she will be at a greater risk of getting "the virus." We had a good visit. Both she and Erin looked through the cookbooks and each took one home. Wade sent me a sour dough starter. I plan to get the dough for a loaf ready this evening and let it rise over night and then bake it in the morning. Woody spent some time on the front porch this afternoon. He enjoyed watching a hummingbird flit from our feeder to some flowers and then sit on a branch for a short time. He said that I missed a photo opportunity! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

The patient continues to improve. He even made his own sandwich at lunch. He said that he needed to get up and do something and making a sandwich fit the bill at that moment. After lunch I made a trip to the public library to return one book and pick up another that they had on hold for Woody. He's not reading as much as he was before surgery. But he has finished one book. After picking up the book, I headed into the sewing room to make some masks for Alex, our oldest grandson. He likes the masks that I made...BUT...had LOST the first one that I made him. I made four more that he and Melany can divide up the way they want to. Both he and Melany have to wear masks to work so need more than one. Hope he holds onto these!!

Pretty quiet day for Woody. He got to stay home after his active day yesterday. He continues to regain strength since his surgery last Thursday. I played hooky for a while this morning and did a little social distancing with friends on a friend's deck. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed visiting in person once again!

Patient's first outing: to dialysis center to have bandage changed and the line flushed. The good news: the line worked the way it was supposed to! He goes back once a week to have the line flushed until dialysis starts. The upcoming training will start first at the dialysis center even though we will be doing it at home...a couple of weeks of training for five days a week for 6-8 hours at a time...not something that we look forward to! Woody was pretty tired when he got back home...first time out the roughest. I miss choosing a photo for each night. I started to go choose one and realized that I can't post one. We will call this "Title Blogging!" Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Woody continues to improve. He came upstairs for the first time since his surgery. His appetite is definitely better. I really miss doing the blog as I used to...miss summarizing my day so I will know next year what I did today! Today our kitchen contractor sent three workers to address several slight problems. All were addressed. All this happened on about the same date as work fame to a close last year. I had sent them a short list of things six months after the finish and Covid happened so they finally got to address them. I am happy! Be safe! Be well! Be cautious!

Happy 13th bday to Esther! Woody slowly feeling better. Will start dialysis "training" Wed. Looking into new blog site so far not compatible with my devices. Will keep posting this way till I find another site.

Patient update: he's taking it slow and easy; still not feeling the greatest. Nathan and I have tried to get into the blog to no avail. Will keep trying!