KateP's musings

Dear Mom,     Its been a busy couple of days for me.  Things are going along well.  I had a pretty decent sleep for the last couple of days as well.  I woke up early enough on Monday to do a few things including another load of laundry and empty the dishwasher from sending it through Sunday. I am still  trying to figure out how to set the thermostat on automatic and I just can’t seem to get it.  It was pretty hot in the house last night and I don’t remember putting it up to 70 degrees.  I did turn it down for the night to 64 but the in-house temperature was still 70.  I am having a hard time understanding the manual on to set it.  When I came home today the heat was up to 73.  That's not how I left it.  I am going to try and look it up later.   I bought a couple of light timers yesterday for $10 and those I am having a hard time understanding as well.  I am thinking of asking Don next door to see if he...

Dear Mom, I tried to sleep early last night but I had  a few things on my mind.  I was trying to access  one of your accounts and messed up on the login so I had to  get a new password for that one.  I was trying to organize that particular bill  in my own files but  I kept  hitting road blocks.   Now I have to think about the things that need to be updated and for some reason it is making me addle brained.  I eventually got what I wanted done but it frustrated me to no end. I talked with Nel yesterday.  He said  Liz was  shopping and then going to  church and that she wasn’t feeling well  despite having a great time they were exhausted not just from this trip but the  impromptu trip to NC.  I will call her after my PT session on Monday. I tried going back to sleep just before one.  It actually worked.  I wasn’t uncomfortable and was able to sleep on my sides with little or no p...

Dear Mom,     I managed to eat the leftover soup I had and it was still good but I am glad I had it because it was beginning to see its last day.  Unfortunately I can feel my stomach still growling.  I am going to ignore it for now.     Jim sent me a text message about an hour ago.  Thankfully it was safely because he was feeling lousy.  The incisions were hurting him big time.  He said he was calling the doctor to give it check. I hope he will be okay.  He complimented me on the info on Mountain peaks that I sent them.  It never got to emily I don’t have her address apparently. Now I have Simply Ming’s show on (as PBS channel 13 has a three hour special on American Graduations (and educational documentary)) on.  I am probably going to stay with cptv station.  Besides “This Old House is on at 6 on this station. :) In the time that I last wrote I managed to put a load of laundry into the wash and fold...

Dear Mom,     The last couple of days seem to have been quite long and busy.  I have a lot of work starting to pile on my desk and trying to organize it was/is becoming a challenge.   I had some doctor appointments and I had a lovely but alas short visit from Jim and Emily.     I have been hit hard with a lot of incoming eobs and mail from the “Payment Processing depart that gets a lot of the lockbox stuff they give to me.  I wish when they get it they give it to me sooner than they have.  At the same time I realize they have a procedure to go through and probably a backlog of stuff as well.  LAS brought it to my attention that a few people have noticed.  I flat out told her it isn’t their business.  SHe shrugged but pointed out people are noticing.  She keeps encouraging me to ask for help.  I don’t want to (and besides I don’t think anyone can be really spared)  WHat’s the hold up you ask. ...

Dear Mom.     Its a beautiful morning and I have got a lot on my mind.  I did not have a restful night.  I had minor spasms that kept me awake through out the night..  So I stayed in bed a little bit longer.  I made coffee and emptied the dryer once I got up and then showered.  I wasn’t feeling that well in general to be honest.     Jim wants to come up tomorrow and Friday to help with the Thank you notes from the funeral.  He wants to bring Emily as well.  So tonight when I leave here I need to make sure the old room is in order and the new one is in order as well.  I have to move the mirror off the bed in the spare room.       I thought I would be running around here trying to clean up and I really haven’t..  I collected the cards and lists and put them on the table downstairs. I put a couple of loads of laundry in the machines.  I need to pick up stuff in the blue room and m...

Dear Mom, Even though I feel infinitely better than I did earlier in the weekend it is still hard for me to walk long distances with some amount of heavy breathing. I still have what I call flutters if I have to sneeze or yawn.  I noticed I woke up every few hours last night.  Not sure what that was about.  I know I was sweating a lot yesterday and this morning and the heat wasn’t even up high (64).  It was 70 degrees in the house. The weather was beautiful.  It got into the low 70’s today and sunny.  It is supposed to get into the 60’s overnight.  I just hope it doesn’t get too warm around here.  That’s probably why I kept waking up every few hours. Work went well I managed to get a lot done but as always have more to do.  I have decided that I will be taking time off from work in December to go to Diane and Rogier’s wedding in Puerto Rico.  I think there is a rally coming up in support of the dining hall labor issues along wi...

Dear Mom, Well I am happy to report that whatever was wrong with the laptop is no longer an issue.  I guess I pushed a button called Airplane Mode which disconnects it from  the network.  I pushed it and viola it reappeared. I heard from Claire D today.  She apparently found about your passing last week.    She wanted to know how I was doing and praised you and how much you interceded for “the boys”.  I shared that Chris has the chef job in Fairfield.  She shared about the troubles of getting a house and the disappointments and all I could think of is what she did to Cheryl. I got a letter/email written and sent to Kristina.  I hope she finds it amusing and interesting.  I really hope she does come up for a visit next year as she is planning on. The spasms are acting up again. I will be taking the meds at dinner and the final one at bedtime.  I may take a nap right now.

Dear Mom, The meds wore off again sometime after midnight.  if I  yawn or take a really deep breath it hurts and makes a flutter feeling.  I can’t even sneeze right again.  I don’t think I can go to bingo this morning.  I really don’t want to whine or cry out.  I am getting tired of doing that.  Yeah definitely not going to bingo,  Hopefully it won’t be as bad again when I take the meds. I went back to bed after 4 after doing some surfing on the computer.I had a dream where you and I and liz went to this home.  WE didn’t know these people and they were in another part of the house and we just sat down in their livingroom.  You ended up being in  a bedroom.  Liz was out back on a phone and this akita was lying submissive to me.  The next thing I remember I walked around saying we can’t stay here this isn’t our place.  When I woke up it was 7 Since I Have been awake I put some laundry in and had breakfast and ...

Dear Mom, Well its almost 9:30 and I am heading to bed soon.  Its time for me to take the meds again.  The spasms are starting to frequent again (not sure if it is burping related or not but it is uncomfortable).   I did manage to make some dinner.  I had spinach and cheese ravioli and sauce for dinner and straightened up downstairs a little.  I even managed to put the magazines in a bag for the nursing home tomorrow.  I think it will be okay to go. I sent a text to Liz tonight they will be coming home tomorrow night.  I have a feeling this trip wiped her out.  I have no idea if there were services for jack or not.  she was glad I got the muscle spasms checked out. She asked if Jim mentioned anything about coming up and I told her not yet. After bingo and church I would like to get to the Senior center and drop off the diapers and pads to them.  I have been either sick or just forgot.  I would like it out of my car. ...

Dear Mom, Well I found out why I have been in so much pain this past week. I have had muscle spasms. I suspected as such but was confirmed at the doctor this morning. Now on muscle relaxants and making an appointment for physical Therapist. Feeling better already.  I had such a bad one at work near the end of the day Sally T had to check on me.  By the time I got to the parking garage with Ann I couldn’t breath and it hurt so I called them and although I couldn’t get there in time.  I went home and right to bed.   I spent the rest of the afternoon watching TV and on the computer.  I did doze for a short time but its time for me to have more meds and to have dinner.  I did make phone calls to JIm to let him know the status (I had told him via email last night) and  to my co-workers.  I also posted to facebook.   I heard from Georgina today.  She is at home for the weekend but is currently working in East Haven.  She said he...

Dear Mom Yesterday was pretty hectic.  I had to make different arrangements for the furnace cleaning for today.  Liz had to cancel as she and Nelson had to make an emergency trip to Hilton Head to see their friend “Jack”. After some finagling I managed to get a neighbor to do it for me. When I got home last night I had dinner and then got the minutes done in record time (again).  I got the living room ready for the meeting too.  I also set up the laptop so that I could do the minutes during the meeting.   The meeting went well if not got started late.  There were seven of us.  M&T brought soda, Chairman Phil brought water and Sharon’s dip.  They all chipped in a little (even though I was still slow moving).  I left the rest of the stuff for today.  Oh and you will be pleased to know that the Community Service award that the DTC hands out every year will now be renamed in your name.  There will also be a scholarship as ...

Dear MOm,     Just wanted to share this bit of info on Working Mothers Magazine thinks about working at Yale.  This maybe a good thing for us when the contract negotiations come around to remember.  I may be alone in that fact.     Yesterday became very hectic for me at work.  The work seemed to get huge on me.  I was trying to be organized with the pre-authorizations and it just didn’t seem to work the way I wanted.   The photo session I mentioned yesterday went off okay.  If not disorganized.  Apparently we had to take pictures with people who were either out of the country (on assignments) or in another state (same reason).  The photo sessions will continue throughout the next few days I guess.     I got a lovely gift from my friend Maria B.  She gave me a box of chocolate covered strawberries as a condolence gift.  Of course I started to eat them but I also put them out for...

Dear Mom, It is another cool morning.  Another reminder that the summer is ending.  I still haven’t done any clothes shopping yet.  I just opened the tub of clothes that have been sitting in your office and I noticed I do have some clothes that are not just black.  The only thing is they are probably too big for me now.  As i told Liz last night via email I got cold feet.  I am really gonna get cold feet if I don’t get new shoes soon.  Maybe this weekend. Lee Ann came back today.  I wasn’t expecting it but when I talked with her she was great.  They sort of knew it was coming but at that moment it was unexpected.  She says she is not grieving.  They are not having services as she (her Mom) didn’t want it.  I asked her if she was getting back into Union activities and she said no but she did offer a view that one our current contract is finished we are going to be striking before the next one.  She says the atmosp...

Dear Mom, It is now Tuesday night.  Today started off rather painful the pain I talked about last night reared its head for a few hours this morning.  I had to walk slowly to the office.  Both Ann and Mary said if it continues i should go to the doctor.  A number of people said it.  I was feeling better by the end of day.  It seems to be coming back again...I think its because of the way I am sitting. Work is really busy.  The daily mail volume wasn’t bad but I have been doing a lot of re-address mail.  I had gotten word yesterday on what to do with the pre-auth and approvals.  In the past I was giving them to the various teams then they didn’t need them. Now I have to them to the docs.   WE have a couple of things coming up with the union.  Last week we were signing a petition to keep the Cancer Center from getting rid of the union jobs and giving them to the Hospital (that are non-union.  This happened at the Sleep ...

Dear Mom, I can’t sleep.  I knew I wouldn’t and I knew that third cup of coffee today would kill me.   Something Liz said to me has me concerned.  We were talking about writing.   It led into my pen pal writing and other writing.  She felt the need to say to me if she feels  she will step in if she feels necessary that I am going to get in harms way.  This would be one of those times that  Lawyer Bob would say she needs to mind her own  business    Although she did admit that it wasn’t her business.  Even  she doesn’t want me to have a lot of pen pals and or end up having problems such as the idiot who sent me flowers.   I explained to the end result of that incident (that someone from one of the groups I was in stepped in for me and told the guy off and told him the consequences would be if he continued to contact me).  I really don’t want this to become an issue.  It isn’t her job t...

Dear Mom,     I have had a pretty good day.  I got up early and started my day.  I basically got some computer and TV time in and then around 9 I got ready for bingo.     Bingo was great.  Marny and Natalie were there and I caught up with them.  I am sorry to say that Natalie lost her little beagle Ben.  She lost him about a month ago to cancer.  She had wonderful memories of how he trained them to be good pet owners.  Now they have a puggle named Harlan.  He is jet black and looks like Cornelius in Planet of the apes movie.  He is a year old and sweet according to Natalie.  THis is their first weekend together.     We had a full house (probably 20 or 25 residents) and I had three High school student volunteers.  ONe was Michael from Fairfield Prep (he was volunteering last year) and a brother and sister team.  One goes to Laurelton and her brother goes to Fairfield Prep a...

Dear Mom,     Well the rain finally came!  It started around 4 and it was coming down hard.  I watched it while I had my dinner.  .  As you know rainy weekend nights are one of my favorite feelings.  I think  the rain is cutting into neighbor Frank’s house refit project.  Well not the indoor part they have been working on it since 9 this morning. I did have the soup and sandwich for dinner and happily no problems so much so that A couple of hours later I decided to have a bowl of cereal and so far no problems.  I am going to leave it at that. The rest of the night has been fairly quiet.  I changed the sheets on the bed but now my leg has been bothering me and I am not sure why, so on that note I am going to sleep.

Dear Mom, It is lunch time and I must be feeling better.  I am starting to get hungry.  I have already pulled out some soup for dinner tonight.  I really don’t want too much for dinner but I do plan on having a  cheese sandwich.  For now I am not sure what I am going to do for Lunch. I am still doing the laundry.  I have one load done and the other is in the dryer and the final one for now is in washer.  I am going to do the  sheets later.  I am going to put the really warm sheets on these beds its been really chilly in the house.  I just turned the heat on. We just received another letter from Bridges.  IT includes all the recent donations in your name. Its a nice list.  THose will go on to the list I am putting together.  It will give me something to do. I heard from Liz today.  She finally gave me her grandkids new address.  She also reminded me  to get the mass cards done so it can be done s...

Dear Mom,     Today hasn’t been the best start to the day.  Actually it started around 1 this morning.  I think the dinner I had didn’t agree with me I ended up getting sick to my stomach and that passed now this morning for the past hour or two I have had diarrhea.  I cleaned up okay but still have the urge to run not walk to the bathroom. I am hoping my breakfast and coffee will stay down and so far it has. This messy development has prompted me to get some laundry done and I have to check on it,  I don’t have a lot of laundry for a change but I want to change the sheets on the beds in both bedrooms.   I had these big plans to do the cleaning but the way I am feeling I am going to have be lazy for a while. I have been using the laptop more and more upstairs while watching TV these days and I am getting use to it now.  Unfortunately it seems like the battery doesn’t last long  and right now the adapter for the laptop is do...