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Barbara Fritchman Thompson Diary Week of 19 January 2004 Latest Update: Sunday, 25 January 2004 17:02 |
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Monday, 19 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Today was a holiday for the firm. Bob and I made a quick
trip out to Lowe's to pick up some a few things for some home repair. The
bolts we installed on the towel bars did not hold. Bob will replace them
with the long molly bolts at some point. We also needed a new toilet seat
in the hall bath. Last time we replaced it our plumber had to get one for
us from the plumbing supply store for some reason. I remember we couldn't
find one to fit the shape of the bowl. This time we did find one, in an
oak wood, to match the cabinets. Bob installed it as soon as we got home.
I also picked up a small can of oil base paint for the baseboard at the
end of the hall where the paint has been knocked off from play hall
ball.
spent the remainder of the day working at my "other" jobs. Right now I have the two consulting jobs plus my full time job at the firm. I spent some time on those today plus working on a few minor behind the scenes things for CBCR. All in all a fairly productive day working from home. After dinner it was off to the gym for Body Pump. That cold air from Canada has arrived. Lows tonight and tomorrow night down in the 11 to 15 degree range but dry at least. I started the second book in the Stephanie Plum series by Evanovich, Two For the Dough, last night.
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Tuesday, 20 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Don't you just love those Monday/Tuesday combinations. It
was hard to get going this morning. Otherwise, just a run of the mill day:
work, grocery store, and gym.
Tomorrow my 81 year old dad is having knee replacement surgery. He is scheduled for 9:30 which means meeting them at the hospital around 8:15. More than likely I will not be going in to work tomorrow at all but we will see how things progress. Duncan started limping last night right before dinner. He was fine all day so I assume he pulled something chasing a squirrel or playing in the house. I gave him a couple of human aspirin, one at dinner and one at bedtime. Bob said he was fine today and he seemed okay before I left to go to the gym. When I got back, Bob said he was limping again, so I guess the leg or muscle has stiffened up on him. More aspirin tonight but I am sure he will be fine. [Top] |
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Wednesday, 21 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| No update
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Thursday, 22 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
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It was a very long day at the hospital yesterday but dad came through in pretty good shape. We did not know when he was told to report at 9:30 that it would be a two pre-surgery prep routine. When it got to be around 1:30 and we still had not heard we started getting worried. Turns out he did not actually go into surgery until noon, was in surgery about 2 1/2 hours then spent another 1 1/2 in recovery and getting to his room around 4:30. He ate a light dinner then spent the evening resting. Frances went on to work at 3 but Al stopped by on his way in from a day trip. Since I had parked my car at the other end of the hospital that morning he went with me to pick up my car, go get some dinner from Wendy's, and showed me where to park closer for the entrance to the part of the hospital dad is located in. I left around 7:15 to come, mom waited on Frances to come back by after she got off from work at 8 then they went on to her house. During the marathon session at the hospital I read one entire book, a short 285 page hard boiled mystery. It was sent to me by Breakthrough to review for Mystery Morgue. Missing Eve, by Ralph Pazzullo is well written but contains a lot of sex and violence. Not one of my favorite type of mysteries but for the genre I thought it was pretty good. This afternoon I went straight to the hospital from work. The physical therapist had been in that afternoon and the occupational therapist that morning. By the time I got there at 3 he was pretty much done in with all the activity plus not getting a lot of sleep the night before. After he napped and then sat up to eat his dinner tray he looked a lot better. Mom and I left around 6 to get a bite to eat then I dropped her back of at the hospital. Frances will pick up her up when she visits on the way home and take her back to her house again for tonight. I started the fourth book in the quilting series and love it. I really like one and two, thought 3 was okay but 4 is really good. Guess I better wrap this up for tonight. The dogs needs some attention before it is time to go to bed.
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Friday, 23 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Bob Keeshan, Captain Kangaroo, died today at age 76. Little
did I know when I was watching his show at the young age of 5 & 6 that
I would grow up to be a librarian and handing out those very same books
read by him on television. I can even still his voice in my head reading
some of those stories.
Dad had a rough morning but seemed to recover pretty well this afternoon. I got to work at 7 this morning so I could leave at 2:30 for the hospital. I arrived just as he was taking off down the hall with his walker and the physical therapist. I guess he walked maybe 50 yards down the hall before turning around and coming back then sat up in the chair for a long time. Mom left with Al to go get her hair done while I sat and visited with dad. He had several visitors. After they left he had the nurse put him back in bed, actually just assist putting him in bed. He did pretty well on his own. He was getting sort of sleepy around 5:00 so I decided to leave and let him get a nap before they brought his dinner. As I was leaving the parking lot I met Al and mom coming back in. The eating out thing starts to get to me after awhile so I decided to come home and fix dinner for a change. We had the pasta, bacon, and pea dish that Bob loves. After dinner I had to catch up mail but plan to spend the remainder relaxing and reading. As I mentioned last night, I am reading, The Runaway Quilt, number 4 in the Elm Creek Quilts series by Jennifer Chiaverini. Sylvia Compson, sole ancestor remaining of the Bergstroms who settled in PA and built Elm Creek, knew there was a possible connection between her family and the Underground Railway. This portion of the story was revealed in either book one or two, I cannot remember. Now, in this novel, Sylvia finds some old quilts in the attic along with journal written by her great grandmother telling the story of how the Bergstroms came to Elm Creek. The novel goes back and forth from present day to Sylvia reading portions of the journal. In the meantime, some of the other character from the other Elm Creek novels are helping Sylvia research the history of the nearby town of Waterford. Summer finds maps at the library where the town appears spelled Water Ford then progresses on later maps to the eventual Waterford. Interestingly enough Elm Creek appears on early maps then disappears during the Civil War. Sylvia believes there is a tie to the Log Cabin quilt found in the attic and the rescuing of slaves. As each of these novels has progressed they actually become somewhat of a light mystery in terms of solving the stories behind the quilts and the mansion itself. I am enjoying the history, the research, and the fiction making this particular book a combination of quilting and historical fiction. I nice break from the other mysteries I have been reading.
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Saturday, 24 January 2004 [Last Week] [Monday] [Tuesday] [Wednesday] [Thursday] [Friday] [Saturday] [Sunday] [Next Week] |
| Dad went home from the hospital this afternoon. He was
supposed to go home tomorrow but with the forecast for ice/snow/sleet they
decided he could go home today. As the nurse told him, the longer you stay
in the hospital the more chance there is for infection or catching a
cold.
I went to the gym this morning for the cardio class then made a stop at the library. I called dad when I got home to let him know as soon as I had lunch and a shower I would be coming over. That is when I learned he would be going home today. I guess we left the hospital around 2 pm. It took an hour or so to get him settled into the house with walkers, potty chairs, etc. Their house is 50 years old designed with narrow doors, small hallways, etc. No much room for maneuvering a walker. We had to move some things around but managed to get some clear paths to the places he needed to get to. After making sure they were settled in and mom did not need me to do anything else I left and came home. We have plans to take Mary and Paul our for dinner tonight in honor of Paul's birthday then over to their house for cake. I offered cancel but mom said they would be fine. Plus, Frances and Al will be around this evening to help out if needed. Guess that about wraps it up for today. [Top] |
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Winter weather has returned to the Piedmont in the form of snow and sleet. It started snowing about 7:45 coming down lightly at first but very hard by mid-morning. As the temperature dropped from 30 to around 25 by mid-day the snow continued to come down. I guess we got around 3 to 4 inches before it turned to sleet late this afternoon. More of the same for tonight, sleet and freezing rain. After the morning house cleaning chores I took the dogs out for a quick playtime just as the snow had starting falling. Bob has some pictures if he will transfer them from the camera for me I will post them tomorrow. I spent all afternoon in my office cleaning off my desk and catching up on a backlog of e-mail newsletters and assorted stuff I did not have time to read during the week. I checked on dad around mid-morning. He is doing wonderful. Slept well last night, did his exercises this morning, and seems to be walking pretty well with the walker. All in all, making very good progress. I guess being in good physical shape helps as well as a good mental attitude. Bob spent most of the afternoon reading and napping. I took the dogs out around 4 pm after the snow had stopped falling and shoveled the walk. I can get up the driveway better if I leave the snow down especially if they are calling for the freezing stuff to fall over night. Malcolm had a good time trying to herd the shovel and biting it with his teeth while I was trying to push the snow around. I doubt we will get much more of a snow accumulation tonight but even if we do it will make it easier to keep the walk shoveled by doing in periodically. The driveway is a bit much for me to tackle anyway. After dinner, homemade pizza, I have some bills to pay and work on some of my consulting project. I am almost finished reading The Runaway Quilt. Next up, another Stephanie Plum by Evanovich. [Top] |