Hades in my Town

 It is so hot out. I'll just say that I love my central air conditioning and leave it at that. I only left the house to pick Geoff up at work so he would not have to walk home through the vestibule of hell. Hilariously my car was finally cooled off on the inside by the time we got home. 

Doug was going to take a walk, yesterday was hotter than today but there was a breeze at least. Today no breeze. Promises of thunderstorms did not pan out. Lying liars telling lies. It is over 80 degrees as I write this, just shy of 11pm. I feel for anyone working outside, or living outside. Saying special prayers in my heart for them. 

Nothing really to write about except bitching on the heat. Just recording a post for the digits. More interesting life tomorrow ... maybe.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours.  No walk. 5400+ steps by bedtime. Need a walk soon...

blood glucose:
8:45am: 114
4:30pm: 140
10:30pm: 119 

food & meds:
8:45am: phentermine+jardiance
11:15am: small bowl of mac & cheese w/chorizo
1pm: met+glip
2:30pm: plain greek yogurt, granola bars crushed up, blackberries, splash of splenda
6:30: cheeseburger over bed of spinach w/tomatoes and bleu cheese dressing
8pm: bowl of mixed nuts w/a few chocolate chips thrown in
9pm: met+glip

Mandatory Easy Taking

I had a rotten night's sleep. Toffee wanted to be super close to me, and I couldn't roll over, couldn't stretch my legs. If I did manage to roll over, my right shoulder and upper back just screamed and rebelled. I drank a lot of water when I got home, so I had to pee a lot. Getting out of bed was a challenge. The bed is low. So I had to hold on to something to pull myself up. 

I went into the guest room at about 4am. Toffee came with, and I love her so much but fucking hell, dog... give me an inch of space. She rested her chin on my left knee and I almost screamed. 

At 8am I messaged my team and said I was going to continue to sleep. Unsetting the alarm fully I just let my body decided when it was time to get up. And at about 9:30 we needed to get up to pee. Mission accomplished - a little extra rest. 

My coworkers asked me why I have not gone to urgent care. I kind of feel like it'd be a pointless waste of time. Nothing is broken, well, maybe my last 2 toes on my right foot but they can't really DO anything with that. You just have to ride that out. The back, elbows, forearm, shoulder, knees all will eventually stop hurting. 

The only thing I would want is something stronger than Tylenol to take, and they don't just give out tramadol for bumps and bruises. 

Your girl's gonna tough it out. 

Geoff made pancakes this morning and had three small ones left over so I helped myself to them. Probably should have skipped them, but they looked so perfect and good. I went to work and got somethings done but felt so tired I tapped out and took a 2 hour nap. Geoff grilled dinner for us (thank you buddy) and I spent the evening just relaxing. 

Expect my fitbit stats to be super low for the next few days. Doug took Toffee for a walk even though it was so hot because she was demanding it. I did an indoor walk for just 10 minutes at a slow pace before dinner. Just enough. 

No picture, more tomorrow.

digits

exercise: 10/12 hours. Skipped 9am hour, slept through 4pm. took an indoor 10 min. walk while Doug took Toffee for a stroll, .45 mi. 4500+ steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:
10:45am: 111
4:30pm: 86
10:30pm: 140 

food & meds:
10:45am: phentermine+jardiance
10:45am: 3 chocolate chip pancakes (small. geoff leftovers from his breakfast)
2pm: met+glip
5pm: entenmann's chocolate donut
6:30pm: 2 big steak tips, a lot of salad, bleu cheese
8pm: ramekin of mixed nuts 
10pm: met+glip

Just Say Hello To The Ground

Was the universe mad at me for the amount of lecturing I gave my mother about falling? 

Maybe.

This morning I woke up on the early side of things. C and her other house guest B and the painter were all downstairs. I could hear talking, the dogs were barking a little. Nothing disruptive. It was actually very nice to just be in bed listening to the life of camp. But I had to pee. 

I got up, went to the bathroom, picked up the laptop and phone and started down the stairs. 

C's cabin has some steps that go down, a little landing, a couple more steps, another landing, and then 7 steps down to the main floor. There is a big window at the turn and I was taken by how beautiful the sunlight was through the trees. 

And I missed the step going from landing 1 to landing 2. Completely missed it. Hence, here comes the fall. 

I think I hit the wall, but somehow pivoted 90 degrees so my back was facing the stairs going down. I then started the down descent. Flat on my back, head first, facing the ceiling. I can clearly see the ceiling in my memory. 

Though I probably could have grabbed a baluster on the staircase railing, I didn't. I was holding the laptop to my chest, protecting it from getting wrecked. By the time I realized I should be trying to stop myself, I was already downstairs, at the foot of the stairs, on my back. 

C and B both were at me in a second telling me not to move, and then to move things slowly. Both arms, both legs, lift my head, okay. Nothing broken nothing bleeding. I laid there for a while, kind of stunned and not sure of what the hell just happened. They got me a pillow. C made me coffee (priorities!) Hoover dog (the English Bulldog) came and sat on me. Ginny the Frenchie came to sniff my eyeballs and brought me a toy. 

I slowly got up, my right knee was uncooperative for a while, unwilling to support my weight, so I sat on the bottom step and waited for it to be willing. I could feel where all the bruises were going to be: back of my right arm and hand, both knees, right shoulder, my right foot, my entire back and butt. My last two toes hurt the most. Don't toes always hurt the most? 

Shaken up a bit I got to the couch. Ice packs pulled out of the freezer, wrapped in towels, pressed against important spots. C got some first aid stuff out, and covered up my skinned knee with neosporin and placed bandages over the spots where I dragged the knee across the wall. 

Well cared for, coffee in hand, making jokes, the way we do. 

Not the way I thought I'd start the day. I knew C was off to work, B had a doctor's appointment, it was early enough that I thought I'd walk to the mailbox and back and knock the exercise out of the park before it got too hot. Nope. 

I was actually disappointed C did not take a picture of me on the floor, with the two dogs basically all over me but she was somewhat traumatized by what just happened. So she got a shot of me on the couch after she doctored me up. 

I want everyone to know that I kept that laptop perfectly safe. Priorities! 

Resuming normalcy, I did work, and enjoyed the interior of the house. Porch life wasn't happening because it was already so hot. B's three schnauzers came to sit in the living room with me, very sweet. 

Jess and I were going to meet for lunch but C had the car key in her purse. Oops. Instead, Jess came here and chilled with me for an hour. I miss them already. 

C got me to the airport early, forever thankful for the ride. Because I hurt so much, and my fitbit was just about dead, I had no desire to walk laps in the airport. So I had some late-ish lunch at the Sam Adams bar, a quesadilla and a couple beers hit the spot and headed to my gate. Uneventful half empty flight, such a relief. 

Doug was stuck in traffic but eventually made it to me and picked me up. We went to dinner and talked about how poorly behaved my mom was and how extra his Aunt is being, he had to have a severe come to Jesus lecture with her while we sat in the parking lot before we came home. 

Essentially she is not listening to him. What else is new. And he kind of laid down the law with her very bluntly and clearly about some of the nonsense she's pulling. She's supposed to be putting her name on a list for the senior housing but she's hired a realtor to help her find a house out in western Virginia (oh no. please no). 

Happy to get home, and my dog lost her mind when she saw me. I'm so sore, hoping for a good night's sleep. I have one tramadol from a medical procedure a few years ago which may still be good and I will probably take it. See how I feel tomorrow and if I need to go to the doctor. Ugh. 

Pictures from the airport, and digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. No walk today, Fitbit died around 8pm, so missed the last hour of the day. 6k steps by bedtime.

blood glucose:
7:45am: 106
n/a pm: on the plane
10pm: 208 (retesting since met+glip at the same time)

food & meds:
7:45am: phentermine+jardiance
1:30pm: peanut butter & crackers
3:30pm: met+glip; chicken quesadilla, guacamole, 2 beers 
8pm: cheeseburger, a couple fries, 1 beer
10pm: met+glip

Hang out, do nothing, do some things, do nothing

Saturday

We goofed off this morning and eventually made our way to mom's. We took pictures of the shed, and evaluated some things that need done around the yard. We took pictures of neighbor sheds and no one called the cops on us for trespassing and being creepy. 

Mom asked us to do some yard work and we decided we'd do it Sunday when we came back. Lin was also supposed to give her a pedicure because her feet are totally ratchet. 

We opted to postpone that until Sunday as well. We went to the hotel pool and had an absolute blast. The water was kind of cold, but once a body is in the water it is lovely. 

After pool we got cleaned up to go down to the bar. There was a Celebration of Life for someone happening, and I think the requisite attire for attending was Red Sox clothing and hats. We talked to the man who was best man at the wedding, he saw us looking at the photo board and came over to say "A hell of a man he was. What a great friend."

We didn't know the decedent, but happily engaged in chat with the guy. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. May his memory be a blessing.

At the bar, we drank a lot of wine. I drank too much wine on an empty stomach. Really dumb idea. We asked the bartender for chicken fingers like the night before and he said the fryer was not working. We could have pizza? With hindsight, we should have ordered some but I said "eh. I'll eat cheese and crackers and nuts when we go back to the room."

At the bar we met some nice people, we sang along to the songs. We watched people dancing inside and outside. And we shut the place down. I stumbled to the room while Linda continued to chat with folks, and I basically thought I was going to die. I did end up finishing 1500 steps to get to 10k. So you can be proud of me.

Finally did eat some cheese and crackers. Took my blood sugar and was pleasantly surprised it was not 900. 

Lin came to the room and gave me a back rub. She's very good at locating knots and working them. If it didn't start to hurt her hands so much she'd make an excellent massage therapist or kinesthesiologist (If I spelled that right?) 

Sleep. Sleep was very welcome. Sleep. 

Sunday

I hate having a hangover. Regretted that last glass of wine, regretted not ordering dinner, regretted my life.

 We checked out of the hotel and headed to mom's. We stopped for Gatorade zero (honestly, the greatest creation ever for hangover relief and altitude sickness!) and some milk for her coffee.

Way too hot to do yard work, and it had just rained so using the leaf blower on things that were patted down and damp would be twice the amount of work. Using a rake would be death for me. So I let he know I wasn't going to do it. She was alright with that.

Lin wanted mom to take a shower, it's probably been months since she has. She washes her hair in the kitchen sink and thinks that is sufficient bathing. She agreed on Saturday that she'd shower when we got there on Sunday. She reneged and just wanted Linda to do the pedicure. 

Linda said it is pointless to fight with her, resigned to just do the pedi. Mom has a friend who comes to check on her and do light housework, and this woman will have screaming fights with mom when mom isn't doing what she's supposed to do, like eat. Or bathe. Or do her laundry. Basically anything that D tells her she needs to do.

It is frustrating yes but having actual screaming fights with each other and then not speak to each other for a while is not the best. Just. Let the old bag be like she is because she's not going to change. She is just not going to change.

She told us that she fell down this morning. "Thank goodness the bed was right there because I fell back on it." 

Um.

What happens when you fall outside the bathroom door, where there isn't a bed to catch you and you break both your wrists because you tried to stop your fall? Or you fall in the living room and the couch isn't right there to catch you, and you hit your head on the corner of the coffee table?

She has a walker. She needs to keep it right by her bedside for first thing in the morning or middle of the night times when she gets a little dizzy. She needs to sit up in bed, put her feet down, and wait a minute before standing up.

She has a safety alert medallion but she refuses to wear it. She said the button is too hard to press (it is not, she just wants to argue about it). When we talk to her about this, and tell her she really needs to start wearing it for the love of God, she sticks out her tongue or rolls her eyes and makes faces, or, gives us the finger. 

Fucking juvenile behavior there, lady. 

I told her, you tell us these things and crow and beam, like you are proud of yourself for falling and getting back up. And yes, you should be proud for getting back up. That's great. You got back up. But holy shit one day you will not be able to. If you have had a fight with D and she's mad at you and isn't coming to check on you, how long will you be on the floor in the hall or kitchen or bleeding out in the living room. Please stop being this way. Please stop being so stubborn. 

"My father was stubborn," she tells me.

That's nice. 

He's been dead since before I was born. Don't be like him. Just try and do the minimum required work to stay safe and healthy. Bathe, so you don't get some sort of bacteria on your skin and then bump your hand on something, break the skin, and end up with an infection. Or a UTI because you ain't cleaned your choochie for a long time. Wear the Blip Blip (our affectionate name for it) even if you never, ever, ever need it. 

And yes, word for word, we've both said all of these things to her. All of them. And we get the derisive facial expressions and single finger salute in return. 

She is one fall away from breaking another hip, or her wrists, and ... that's it. 

Anyway. 

Linda started the pedicure a little before 2pm. We joked that she needed a Brillo pad for the bottoms of the feet, and a hazmat suit. We joke, but seriously, she's a saint for doing this and I love her. 

I organized my stuff and made sure my laptop was fully charged for tomorrow (I forgot my charger so I used Linda's). I resigned myself to begin the trip north, having accomplished nothing really big on this visit. 

Except for fun pool time with my sister. That was the highlight. And I'll cherish that as the best part of the time here. 

Jess asked me to stop at their place and let Dijon out since they were in Rhode Island for fun with their friends. I got to the house just before 5, and it was too hot for a good walk so we just toodled about the yard. I needed to check into my flight, so I sat on the couch with the pup and cuddled for a bit. 

Southwest check in done, dog time complete, off to C's house. 

Another good friend of ours was visiting her, and it was nice to see her and her beautiful dog. C and I then went out for Chinese food, got caught up on the last 3 days. Mom, my cousin, her mom, a house she's got an apartment in that is being redone, ripped to the studs and rebuilt. 

It felt good to talk to someone who didn't make faces at me or give me the finger. What a relief. 

I noticed that I only had 4500 steps so far for the day so she suggested a walk. She came with me and we covered a lot of ground in the camp in 37 minutes. Further than I think I would have gone by myself. Dark, quiet, some cottages occupied but most not. Some kids on bikes and dog walkers. A glass of wine and then bed. 

Tomorrow I think it is lunch with Jess. Then off to C's job so she can drive me to the airport, and then home. 

I wish I got more done around mom's but it was hot and difficult. Happy to be heading home. 

Digits below. 

Saturday digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 18 minute beach walk, .82 miles. end of night finisher, 10 min/.42 miles 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9am: 111
5pm: 175
11pm: 25

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
1:30pm: met+glip; fried chicken sandwich w/fries and coleslaw
wine at the pool

Times become a blur...
no dinner (big mistake) 
wine at the bar listening to the band, some Korean dry rub BBQ ribs
met+glip
11pm: cheese and crackers

Sunday digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. Missed 7pm because we were eating dinner. Good walk with C, 37 min/1.71 miles; 9000+ steps by bedtime (could not force myself to do the last 1000 steps. so tired!)

blood glucose:
9am: 110
6xpm: 99
10:30pm: 188

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
3pm: met+glip; 5 crackers
7pm: chinese food, General Tso's chicken, dumplings, spicy green beans, scorpion bowl for 2 shared w/C. 
10pm: Met+glip

Surprise!

(Friday's entry - internet at hotel was flaky so posting at mom's on Saturday) 

Lin and I stayed up drinking wine and looking at houses until after 2am. 

8am came so soon. Let's just say that. A little coffee, a walk outside, gets the body going. At 9am it was already so hot, and I didn't want to work outside so I stayed put in the hotel and did my tasks. Lin went to mom's and I drove to her restaurant to surprise her. 

I got in there a few minutes early and yeah, she was surprised. It got a lot of laughs from the regulars around the bar and the bartender, everyone. 

We sat at her corner of the bar. She's lost more weight, she seems a bit vacant sometimes. Her little restaurant isn't closing, it turns out. Which is great. Getting the lowdown from the bartender was a relief. They'll remodel and do things overnight. So she'll be able to keep coming. Thing is, she'll probably hate the menu and complain about the food and never go back. 

She got a tuna boat (New England, shout out, if you know you know... ) and only ate about half of it before I started giving her shit for not eating. She got mouthy with me. She's not hungry. 

You need to eat even if you are not hungry, please. 

We finished up, came back to the house. I had two meetings, one went great and one started but we decided to reschedule for Tuesday. We headed back to the hotel and the place was hopping. A wedding party, some guy playing blues guitar with a harmonica player and they were just not good but they drew in a big crowd. 

The night was lovely, we sat outside and decided to order from the little restaurant at the hotel. Not a wide variety of choices but the chicken fingers were good, and the fries too plentiful but tasty. 

Both of us were ready for bed at 10. Compared to Thursday night when we stayed up forever. 

Saturday's plan is hang out with mom, and basically attempt to either get in the pool or take a decent walk.

Some pictures, and digits below. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. no real exercise, did a 15 min walk all around the hotel .71 miles; 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8am: 94
n/a at mom's
10pm: 175

food & meds:
8am: phentermine+jardiance
9am: piece of apple danish
1:30pm: scallops, green beans, coleslaw; metformin (no glip, missing from my bag)
7pm: glip ( solo ) Mixed nuts
8:30pm: chicken tenders and some french fries, wine w/diet cranberry
10pm: met+glip

Porch Life to Beach Life

I got to sleep after 2am, C's little Frenchie slept with me. She's my favorite little gargoyle. She's hilarious because she likes to nest between my legs, not behind my knees. 

Yellow room - so comfy. Happy to have been rescued and brought upstairs. So happy C came downstairs and rescued me and I didn't have to think about where I'd poop at 4am.  

Because seriously, I was thinking about where was I going to poop if I indeed had to poop.

At around 7am, Ginny got up when the Big Dog came into the bedroom to check on me. I put her down on the floor, went to the bathroom, got back in bed until a little after 9. 

Coffee and conversation on the porch with the ladies. Porch life is so nice. Even in the heat.

C's houseguest is a realtor, so we talked a lot about houses, and mortgages. Jess and I checked in with each other to arrange lunch. Linda had hit the road and sent her estimated arrival time to Plymouth.  

We had lunch with Jess, and then C and I spent another few hours just chatting and it was lovely. Repeatedly I thought "I should go and meet up with Linda now." But. Porch life and C. 

I watched hummingbirds at the feeders, too fast to photograph, but so lovely. And C's plant table is always a favorite to visit. 

Around 6:30pm, I figured it was time to go. My sister had been to mom's and surprised her. Tomorrow we surprise her with me showing up. Should be delightful. 

I got to the hotel around 8:45. We went to the front desk to ask when the restaurant here closes, and the guy says 10pm. Kitchen closes at 9:45. Score. 

Lies.

They close at 9. so we missed out on getting a meal. Neither of us wanted to door dash or grub hub. In fact, I looked up grub hub and only Wendys, BK, and Taco bell deliver here so we ate nuts, ate the last of my crackers from C (thank you!) and drank wine. 

We tried to log into the wifi and it didn't work. While silently cursing everything my sister went to the front desk to report the problem and they rebooted the router and it worked. Okay. Yay. We can work in the morning now. Hurrah. 

Lin took this shot of the sunset before I got here and I had to share it. Digits below. 

digits

exercise: 11/12 hours. 10 min. walk around the hotel area, .46 miles. I could have done more but. 8k steps by bedtime; 

blood glucose:
9:15am: 130
n/a - too late for reading and then in the car 
11am: 144

food & meds:
9:15am: phentermine+jardiance
11:45: Triscuit & cheddah 
12:30pm: met+glip
2pm: big giant salad w/goat cheese fritters and grilled chicken
9pm: nuts, 4 peanut butter crackers (restaurant was closed for the night at 9pm) 
wine+diet cranberry juice
11:15pm: met+glip

Late Flight to Porch Life

(This is Wednesday's entry)

Because every single flight to New England in June on a Wednesday night is booked, unless you want to pay for the Business Class seats (which are not any different than the other seats on Southwest) I booked the last flight out tonight. 

I didn't want to impose on Doug for tomorrow, when he's working and I'm not, to have him schlep me to the airport. I know he would, I just didn't want to do that imposition. 

If my flight is canceled tonight, he'll have to come back and get me. There's no flight to be bumped to until the following day. 

I have all day tomorrow to play with. This was my intention. Get up there, late side of things sure, and then have all day for coffee and chill with C on the porch with Porch Life and Dogs. It's been too stinking long. 

Honestly I think I haven't been up there since last year's Guster fest in Portland. Is that true? What's wrong with me. 

Doug went to his aunt's house today to help with whatever he can/could. Allegedly, they have to be out of their condo tomorrow. They have nowhere to go. They have not thought this out very well. His cousin called him on Sunday and wanted to know if he has a video camera or if his cel phone takes good video. He wouldn't tell Doug why he needed it, super cagey, absolutely on brand. 

Doug's cousin is all "I don't know" about where he's going to go, and his aunt said she's not taking him with her anywhere, he's on his own. Exceptionally dysfunctional for so many years and now I guess that's just what you do. You pack up and leave your 55 year old on-the-spectrum son and do whatever. 

I asked him before he left, "you are going to be home in time to take me to the airport, aren't you?" He said yes. 

I worked pretty hard all day, lots of meetings and little tasks. It started pouring with thunder and lightning at 2pm and again at 6pm. I do have to say I'm so proud of Toffee because none of it bothers her. 

I worked through my lunch because I stupidly set up a meeting with a station at noon, and it went forever. So I did a half hour of indoor walking (since it was pouring, oh, and 90 degrees with 90% humidity) and started to pack. I started to actually pack on Sunday night but had laundry and other things that needed to be done, so got it all finished up, zipped up, and out onto the couch. I decided not to check a bag but take my small red LL Bean bag as a carry on, 

Doug got home in time to eat dinner and take me to the airport, made it in plenty of time even with all the thunder and lightning. Got two glasses of wine at the bar and headed into the gate. 

On time, on time, on time, amazing. Then, bad news. No crew was available to fly us. Our onboarding and departure were put on stand by... 

We left after 10:30, a full hour later, when the crew finally arrived. I was so worried they'd time-out and not be able to leave at all.

Part of me wanted to go home. I had all day Thursday to futz with and fly, but ... here we were. 

We finally got off the ground, landed at 11:59 pm. Jess was there to get me and we stopped for gas, and went to C's. 

Coming onto the porch, I set my bag down and the door into the house was locked (oh no). C's got a house guest here for most of the summer and it seems she forgot that I was coming. Her 3 dogs were barking a lot, and I thought for sure she'd come out to see what was happening but she did not. 

That's okay - I was alright sleeping on the porch if need be. It was well after 1am, I peed at the airport, I could make it through the night no problem.

But oh no, what if I have to poop? Hmmm. 

I tested my blood, I opened my bag to get a t-shirt and shorts. C came downstairs to let her dogs out and was surprised to see me. 

Surprise! 

She saved me, we went upstairs, I got the Frenchie and we got in bed. Hurrah. 

I did cave and get a cinnabon, because sitting there for almost 2 hours with the gorgeous stench wafting at me. Didn't impact my blood sugar too badly in the end. 

On the way to the airport, Mister Sun made a Rainbow.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 1/2 hour indoor walk between meetings, 1.61 miles; 10k+ steps by end of day, with a jump start on Thursday with the steps after midnight. 

blood glucose:
9am: 98
5pm: 89
1am: 153

food & meds:
9am: phentermine+jardiance
11:15am: chicken salad w/walnuts & grapes
1:45pm: met+glip
5:30pm: granola bar w/pb and chocolate
6pm: full sugar yogurt w/another granola bar 
9:30pm:met+glip; cinnabon

A quickie trip

I have been talking for months about going up to see mom. I was supposed to go at Christmas and couldn't get out of my own way. And then all of a sudden, it's June. 

The logistics about getting to her are complicated. For this trip, I'm flying to NH to spend the night with C, borrow a car (renting a car is more than the flight), and then fly home on Monday night after spending the day on Sunday with Jess and their friend Catie, and heading back to C for some quality fellowship. 

Driving is a lot, it can be 10 hours. And I don't like going alone, and I worry about a car breaking down somewhere in the swamps of Jersey. 

I've procrastinated, delayed, and had a lot of other things happening on the weekend. But now we have reason.

Mom's favorite watering hole (where she doesn't get watered but we do) is closing. Horribly sad fact, this local foodrinkery was sold and the new owners are going to refactor it and reopen it. It probably won't be the same in any way and we don't know if any of the staff are going to be hired back. It's probably going to be some sort of fancy gastropub that this part of town does not need, and it may fail miserably. They'll stop serving the scallops that I love. The bar pie pizzas that we adore will be gone. And let's not even talk about the chicken parm.

Initially rumors were that it was going to close June 20th. Then June 30. No one is quite sure. The staff aren't even sure when their last day is the last thing I heard.

Linda and I talked about it and we decided we just had to go visit. 

The staff at this restaurant have kept a keen eye on my parents for many years, and since dad passed away (coming up on 2 years now) they've reached out if mom isn't doing well, isn't eating, isn't showing up. 

It's kind of like if my mom was active in a church, the church ladies would make sure she's eating or help her if she needs something like a ride to the doctor or an errand run. She doesn't go to church but for sure she's been lucky to find her community in these folks. 

We love them, we respect them, and we'll miss them. Until we know where they end up.

Linda and I were joking about "where's she going to eat now?" but the joke isn't really a joke. It's an actual concern. She does not cook, she'll exist on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on Sara Lee bread, coffee, and Lemon Loaf from Shaws. 

She won't starve to death, I'm sure of it. But she's losing her church, her community. It's bigger than just a restaurant closing. This is her connection to the outside world. This is a reason to leave the house three days a week.

I'll get the scallops. Of course I will. 

Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks. Doug & I took Toffee for a walk (humid, hot, stupid, ugh) 35 min/1.48miles. Then to make sure I got 10k, another walk, 30 min/1.11 miles; 11k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
8:15am: 123
5pm: 117
11:30pm: 97

food & meds:
8:15am: phentermine+jardiance
12:30pm: met+glip
1:15pm: BLT salad w/mixed field greens instead of plain L.
6:30pm: 2 nice sausages w/coleslaw
white wine
8pm-9:30pm: a bunch of cashews
10pm: met+glip

just the digits today

Did not realize it was so late. Doug and I looked at houses online for a long time and then it was 11:30. Fell short of 10k steps, even with 2 decent walks. 

And because we were looking at houses, I forgot to take my after dinner met+glip. oops. So distracted. 

A real entry tomorrow! Digits below.

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. 2 walks. one inside between meetings, 15 min, .72 miles. And a solo walk in the rain, dog did not want to go out and I didn't want to go to the gym. Should have... I wouldn't have missed 10k. 20 min/1.02 mi. 8500+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9:15am: 149
5pm: 117
11:30pm: 133

food & meds:
9:15am: phentermine+jardiance
10:45am: english muffin w/pb
2pm: met+glip
2:45pm: chobani zero sugar w/one granola bar crushed up
6pm: piece of chicken parm w/small amount of penne pasta
8:30pm: ramekin of cashews
11:30pm: met+glip

Missing them already

We had a lazy start to the day, and knowing how long it takes to get back up to where they live, I gently encouraged Jess' departure without shoving them out the door. 

Would you like an egg mcmuffin before you leave?
We should take the dogs for a walk together .... before you leave. 
We're just standing in the front yard talking,  your stuff is in the car, maybe....?? you should leave?

I know their feelings - it is a long fucking drive. We would often feel like "oh man... do we have to?" when leaving Doug's parents' for the 12 hour ride WITH SMALL CHILDREN back in the day. The procrastination is strong. Very difficult to get motivated to undertake the task. 

More now that I am older, I'm ready to get on the road and mad if we're an hour later than our imagined departure. I thought Jess would leave by 9 but it was close to noon when they departed.

Before they left, our neighbor brought the Meg over again and they played so hard. It was 20 degrees cooler today than yesterday, so the dogs had all their energy and it was awesome. Meg got a little overwhelmed because Dijon kept barking at her, and she didn't know what to do. And Toffee just wanted to tackle and rawr rough play. So R didn't stay too too long but just enough. 

We drove to Baltimore to get my card from the restaurant where it has been hanging out for a week. Then we went to Monument City Brewing since we were in Baltimore. When in Rome. 

We brought Toffee and she was so good. SO GOOD! so many people came by to pat her and say hello. Other dogs came into the brewery - and she whined and grumbled some but settled down nicely after a bit. What a relief. I think getting all that energy out with Meg and Dijon in the yard was a good idea.

The trip home was a bit wacky. Baltimore has a lot of one way streets and if you don't listen to your wife, or, if the GPS says "In one thousand feet" but you turn in 30 feet because you're super bad at measuring, you end up all sorts of turned around. And there was a baseball game at Camden Yards today, so, ha. We ended up going all around the Casino area, way out of the area we wanted to be. Eventually we made it home, Doug took a monster nap. I went to the gym. 

No one was at the gym, and I loved it. 

Market for some salad stuff and macaroni salad, and things to plan for this week... and then I grilled dinner. 

Jess texted me at about 10-ish saying they'd made it to Massachusetts, ETA to their bed was 11:30. My mom always demands we call and let her know when we make it home when we travel. "I worry."

And I get it.

I worry too. 

Digits below some dog pictures. 50 shots taken today and I only have one good one of the two of them together. Dijon is blurry in both shots because she wouldn't quite stay still. 

Thank God for digital photography. 

digits

exercise: 12/12 hours. Two walks, one with jess and dogs, 17 min/.73 miles and then treadmill, 21 min/1.05 miles 10k+ steps by bedtime

blood glucose:
9:30am: 163
5pm: 147
10:30pm: 164

food & meds:
9:30am: phentermine, jardiance
10:45am: brekkie sammitch, egg bacon cheese on english muffin
2:30pm: met+glip
2 beers at brewery
6:45pm: steak tips, lettuce/tomato salad, a little macaroni salad
2 more beers
9pm: met+glip