It's been a quiet couple of weeks around here, but as always, it's less quiet than I usually think it is. Quiet because we haven't done much of anything exciting other than work. Which is okay. It's too cold in my mind to go out and do stuff, and then on the super nice days in the past week, it was too work-busy for me to want to go outside. I realized that the last time I went to Doug's aunt was kind of the last time I even left the house. Left. The. House. I didn't even go outside with the dog. Until yesterday, I think it was over two weeks since I set foot outside the building. I'm becoming that person. Things will get better and more outsidey, and then I'll complain it is too hot. We have a short window called April.
So here are some updates.
Me & Work
Phase 1 of the big project that I've been working on since late 2019 (pre pandemic! in the before times!) is coming to a close, and phase 2 of the project hopefully will be kicked in by late March. We'll get a breather to assess the help documentation, work on the help documentation for the next phase and the phase beyond that. Several of us had pondered what our roles will even be with phase 2, and things are sort of starting to look like they're coming into focus. So hopefully it'll all make sense in the next few weeks.
We have a new teammate joining us, and I've known about it for a long time (months). I'd hoped he would have come on board in early January so he could ramp up and finish the project with some knowledge of this phase 1 process, but it isn't to be. We'll finish next week, and he starts the Monday following. He and I are good friends through work, and he brings a lot of strategy and smarts to the table. He'll be a lot of fun to work with.
Very much looking forward to that.
My company took Presidents' Day and made it a floating holiday, which to me makes no sense at all considering how many people have kids, and school is out that day. Like. Why? You gotta take your floating holiday on a day that you would normally have off anyway? Who does this serve, except for annoying parents. I decided I would take it off, and celebrate the Presidents or whatever.
Which leads to the next update.
Doug's Aunt
Adventures continue with Doug's aunt. She didn't check in with us for 2 weeks, and we haven't volunteered to go over. Honestly, we needed a break. I emailed her last night to check up on her, because her silence is unusual, and I basically was worried they'd been somehow jettisoned out of the house permanently by the county at this point.
Things are very bad from what she explains. The county representatives have been at her house twice in the last two weeks.
She said one of the county representatives went through her kitchen and removed all the food that was expired so "everything is gone! All my food is gone!" I said "well yeah, that makes sense. If it is expired food, it shouldn't be in your house." But she was so mad that this person violated her pantry. How dare she. I shook my head. I could just imagine the dates on some of the food. Probably 2007 like the AARP magazines I've thrown out.
I said well this is good - I'll come in and clean the pantry and shelves and take you shopping for up-to-date food, and label it and then you just have to promise to eat it before it expires.
She said that the county is going to hit her with fines next. So she's about to get fined who knows how much. And she has no fucking money. So good luck with that, county.
My thought today was to go over there and help. Doug has a ton of work to do for a report (or three, I think) that needs to be submitted Monday. He told me he is going to be working all weekend because reasons. So I was just going to go by myself. Then he tells me this morning he should be done with a big chunk of things by about 2pm, and he wants to go do something fun. We have done nothing fun for weeks. Zero fun. He can save the rest for tomorrow.
It sounds good to me. I'm willing to leave the house.
I have off Monday, see above, so I just emailed her to let her know I will be there before lunchtime on Monday. I'd like to sleep in maybe past 8am. On my holiday. Honoring the Presidents and junk.
My Dad
My dad got sick about 2 weeks ago. My mom said he'd stopped eating more than a bite or two, was lethargic, slept all the time. And then on a Monday morning, I think it was the 7th, he said to her "Don't call an ambulance, but I think I'd like to go to the emergency room."
So she took him - they eventually saw him and admitted him, and put him in the ICU. He had fluid in his lungs pretty badly but they didn't say it was pneumonia. His blood pressure was jacked up to like 220/60, which isn't good. They eventually got things stabilized, the fluid lessened or gone, and then he caught two bacterial infections from being at the hospital, Pseudomonas and Klebsiella. Both are HAI - Hospital Acquired Infections. You can't get these from walking around town or eating at your favorite watering hole or going to Wally-Mart.
I am kind of annoyed that these things literally could have killed him. Great job, hospital. Five more days in the hoosegow, with an IV feed to knock them out. He got released yesterday and when I talked to my mom he was resting. He said he was treated incredibly well, but they barely let him sleep, which is, of course, the downside of being in the hospital. So he is now happily home in his own bed. Sleeping.
I had offered to go up for a couple of days. My mom told me that would be "pointless" because I wouldn't be allowed to go in and see him. I said "well, I could help you with things..." and she said "meh."
Then she complained that she took my dad's sheets and blankets off of his bed, and it took her literally two days to wash them and dry them because, of course, they have a tiny washer and dryer. Not a giant put all your fleece blankets in here and wash them thoroughly and dry them completely kind of washer and dryer. I said to her, case in point - I could have come up and taken all that stuff, and all your clothes that you don't wash frequently enough, to the laundromat, and been done with it all in about 90 minutes max. So she conceded that it would have been a good idea but it was done and over with.
Can't change the past you sure can just bitch about it.
Hopefully he's well and fine and not needing any follow up anything, other than regular check ups with his doctor. We'll head up in the spring for a visit or something.
Phineas
I had hoped that Phin would like be .... excited? to see her. But also a little worried he would be, and want to go with her.
I don't know what dog brains are like. For instance, Gonzo knew Aaron's name, and if we ever talked about Aaron, he'd start looking for him. It always broke my heart a little. But Gonzo was always the "smartest dumb dog" I ever knew.
In our case, Phin didn't get too excited. Sat on the couch next to her. Went to sleep. Shed white fur all over her black shirt and pants - and she thought that was funny.
She'll always be his mama though.
Next Monday is his one year anniversary of coming to live here with us. So almost to the day, from their last time together, they got to see each other. For the record, she didn't stay away because she was heartbroken or anything. After she adopted him out to us, she took a job in California and was out there for quite a long time. She moved back here after Thanksgiving, figuring she was more East Coast than Cali. And she settled in southern Virginia. When she left she told me that the set up here, and the people we are, is exactly what she wanted for him. The fenced yard, the companionship, he's doing well and she can see it. And that makes her glad for the decision. And I am glad too.
Yesterday I took him to the vet for his annual check up. He's put on some weight (maybe a little too much) since coming here. He's got a problem with his back right leg - it's not bending when he walks so the vet described it as "jacked up," like her own leg when she had a bike accident a few years ago and shattered the bones in her leg to a million pieces. She wants to do some X-rays just to see if something is super wrong, or, arthritis. She said he walks fine, moves around fine, you almost wouldn't notice it if you weren't looking for it. But we did notice it - and so did his former mama, and we discussed it last week when she was here. He is an older boy, 11 already, so the weight gain and maybe some advancing arthritis is the problem. He got some pain meds, and we'll see about X-rays in a week or so.
Here's some Phineas to bless your face. Doing what he does best, and chilling with a side project I'm helping my friend Matt with.
Oh and here's another one because yes. Magic hour. I wanted to catch his eye open because the twinkle from the sun was just unreal, but it didn't work out. Just look at that little bastard.
Alright. I think that sums it up. Going to do a little house cleaning and laundry folding while Mister Man does his job stuff, and then we'll see what we're up to for the afternoon.
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