Happy Thanksgiving from TomCat
And from me –
And if you need a lttle something extra to be thankful for, this just might be it. It certainly would have made TomCat’s day – if not his whole year (he would of course wish it had happened in Oregon, but the fact that it happened at all is eexlilarating.)
Yes, it’s that day again – 60 years ago now. I was thinking about that recently in connection with an article on whether we shoould require the release of medical records by all candidates for President (along with tax records.) Sounds like a good idea, doesn’t it? But I have very mixed feelings about it.
In any case, before it’s too late, I want to share this cautionary article for anyone who might be honored by being invited to a Black Thanksgiving dinner but not know much about Black food culture in particular. It gave me some chuckles, a couple of gag reflexes, and a few surprises.
The Root – 17 Dishes You BET NOT Bring to a Black Thanksgiving
#4 – Green Bean Casseerole. Amongst the several polls I sent out requesting ideas for this list, this abomination was at the top. The only acceptable form of green beans is with smoked turkey neck and potatoes. Why is it a trend to make this a casserole?
#6 – Potato Salad with Raisins
Matter fact, keep anything you got with raisins in it. Keep ya potato salad, ya pasta salad, macaroni salad and the criminal attempt at a pan of macaroni and cheese if it has raisins. You must do time over this.
15 – Gelatin-Based Oddities
We’re wayyy past that odd 1980s moment when everything edible was put in gelatin. Leave it alone, babes..unless it’s Jell-O shots. Those are always welcome.
Yes, there are more. And pictures. I hope you get some laughs too.
Personal Update: I have had one contractor here and have a contract for that service – which kind of has to be, maybe not done, but at least under weigh before I can do much else. At least I am getting more confident getting around the house, and that’s a good thing.
11/20 Today is Transgender Day of Remembrance. It is also World Children’s Day. I find that appropriate, and also ironic. I cannot begin to imagine what transgender children have to go through (heck, I can’t even imagine what some left-handed children still have to go through, and I can simulate that.)
I have a contractor coming today, so this will be all today.
So, first full day home amd I am grumpy as a grinch. No one’s fault (unless there are some kind of gremllins that are in charge of these things.) And it’s a story going back to 1976, when , newly out of the Marine Corps, I sprained my ankle. Of course I used “RICE” and eventually it stopped hurting – until the late 1990s, when it started to notify me that I had osteoarthritis there. That was when I started using a cane. I would not call that a flare-up – just a more or less constant annoyance which gradually eased off. I didn’t forget about the sprain, because it had affected the angle of the left foot a little, as well as the configuration of the arch area (which is a story in itself, but not for now), which were always reminders, but I had forgotten about the pain – until today, when I woke up with a full-blown flare-up – along with my usual back pain, which is on the right side. Suddenly, when neither leg is weightbearing, using a walker wasn’t so easy any more. Normally I ise the TENS in the den (at the opposite end of the house from the bedroom) but I wasn’t going to get there without something giving. Fortunately I remembered I had taken a spare TENS to the bedroom ages ago – the pads were smaller than I use on my back (they were intended for my shoulder) and the TENS had gottn unplugged from the charger somehow (fortunately there was enough charge to get me vertical) so I made it to the den, getting ice for the ankle along the way, so I’m much more comfortable now. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the flareup won’t be back tomorrow morning, and the next morning, and the morning after that, for up to four weeks. I did get a new wheelchair ordered, the samre make and model I have been using to visit Virgil, but one size smaller because doors (and just enough weight loss to fit comfortably),but that was about it. I did note that, one day after SCOTUS adopted a “Code of Ethics, ” pundits are saying it is about as efficacious as a paper parasol in a hurricane – which was what I had guessed, and y’all had probably also guessed.
I shall now leave the “den” (and therefore the good computer) for the living room for a while, and attempt to find some things that I know I packed to come home with me – so they must be somewhere – but I haven’t figured out where yet. Wish me luck!
The call went swimmingly … it did end up requiring help from one of the hospital staff who was most gracious also. We could hear eaxh other clearly (lix\ke most of our convwersations, it was fairly monotonous – a lot of “I love you,” “I love you too,” :I miss you,” I miss you too”s But it lifted both our spirits
If I can find a way to express my gratitude to Governor Polis without getting intercepted by some Karen just waiting to jump on someone for being compassionate, I shall. But Karens can be sneaky.
I am packing up the lapto now, to save time later, and to force me to watch and read the instructions for discharge So probably no more till tomorrow. – even responding to comments.
I wish this meant that I’m fully recovered. It doesn’t. It does mean that I am recovered enough to manage my own recovery from here. And that means work. And that means less time and energy for PP during the process.
It does, of course, also mean a good shot at a better future. But that will require patience… and we all know cats and patience.
On the bright side, I just got a call from Virgil’s facility and they will arrange a call from him today between my therapies. Woo hoo!
Nameless asked me in an email whether I had an idea of goals toward discharge, and whether I was being unexpectedly moved around and returned to my room (as his Mom was after hip surgery and found annoying.) Well, his Mom (and others who felt the same) must have impacted the standards of care.
Yesterday, here is the printout schedule I received (abbreviated):
OT 7:15-8:15 patient room
OT 8:15-8:45 patient room
PT 10:00-11:00 Gym (This was a sitdown lecture/roundtable on avoiding future falls)
PT 11:30-12:00 Gym
It all adds up to 3 hours, so I know it’s the full schedule – they have promised me three hours a day and no more (it may even be only 5 days a week.)
As far as goals toward getting out, that iis largely what they are working on shaping for me. The first PT workout Tuesday was exhausting, but it gave me a very clear idea of what they want me to be able to do. Some of it I can do now but need repetition to build strength and stamina – like walking with a walker around the gym. Tuesday I did it and it didn’t affect my oxygen but it skyrocketed my pulse. Yesterday I did it much more easily. (Interestingly, Tuesday also made it clear that my pulse going up presents as shortness of breath. But I digress.) Other tasks I can do but not in the target time frame. Still others – mostly those involving balance – not in this universe at this time (It’s not the fall – I have had balance issues my whole life. Of course the upside of that is that I have a pretty good idea of my limitations.) So specific goals are being formed, and I haven’t looked, but it would not surprise me if they are being slipped into the binder they gave me. And if not, I can probably request a copy. Also, at my leisure, the center’s TV system has about a dozen treatment-related videos, including one about what to expect on the discharge day.
I hope no one else here will ever need to go to rehab. But if you do, I hope this will help you have an idea what to expect, and mitigate any fear or nervousness. And the staff have been great (sure, some are better than others,and sure, some of them, being demanding is their job, so they are not going to seem as warm as others. But they are good at what they do.)
This is all for today, other than reading and rating comments (and responding to a few.) Today But rest assured I’m feeling good for the circumstances and getting better.
Today is the Marine Corps Birthday. Trinette has the day free after a long hard week of training and will be able to visit in daylight even in standard time. I shan’t be idle.
Click the picture for a guided tour
p. s. They also have an in-house psychologist! We just met, and I don’t think I’ll need her, but then I didn’t have surgery, so no mind numbing anesthesia, and besides I have Trinette and you all.
Yesterday, Mike Johnson was elected Speaker, ending 22 days of one kind of chaos (and probably beginning a slightly different kind.) I figured that out a couple of seconds before I saw the actual email announcing it – because a slightly later email (and I read down) announced that Colorado’s GOP delegation of three all supported him, and, as you know from yesterday (if you didn’t know it already,) our delegation contains 3 reps, none of whom plays well with others, including each other. I figured if they could all get it together, the whole GOP would be a cinch. Apparently that was a good bet. That doesn’t mean he will be a good Speaker, or even a minimally competent one. Andy Borowitz suggests that “Johnson Promises to Be Greatest Speaker of the Seventeenth Century.” (I note that that century includes the year 1609.) Also, I got an email from Pat, who is down in the dumps because her physical included a diagnosis of short term memory loss. She authorized me to share that, so I am. (She didn’t mention how severe they said it was. I certainly would nbnever have guessed.)
On the plus side, a late night email from Margaret Atwood came with a video – she promised all her subscribers a post-op tap dance. I wish I had ber energy!
Cartoon –
Short Takes –
The Daily Beast – Trump Says Only Jesus Christ Could Be Elected House Speaker
Quote – Twenty days after Kevin McCarthy was ousted as speaker of the House—and with House Republicans once again starting from scratch to find a new leader—former President Donald Trump declared on Monday that there was just one candidate who could win enough support. “There’s only one person that can do it all the way,” Trump said before a New Hampshire rally. “You know who that is? Jesus Christ. If Jesus came down and said, ‘I want to be Speaker,’ he would do it. Other than that, I haven’t seen anybody that can guarantee it.”
Click through for details. Jesus Christ would not get a single vote. Democrats would not vote for him because we believe in church-state separation. Republicans would not vote for him because he is brown, he is woke, he does not speak English, and he was not born in America. Not. one. single. vote.
The 19th – U.S. Mint announces final 5 women as it finishes its quarters program in 2025
Quote – The program began in 2022 as a result of legislation introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee, a California Democrat. “I wanted to make sure that women would be honored, and their images and names be lifted up on our coins. I mean, it’s outrageous that we haven’t,” Lee said when the program was first unveiled in 2021. “Hopefully the public really delves into who these women were, because these women have made such a contribution to our country in so many ways.” Lee began drafting legislation on the coin program with help from Rosa Rios, the Treasury official who oversaw the United States Mint under former President Barack Obama. She introduced her bill, the Circulating Collectible Coin Redesign Act, with two Republicans, Reps. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio and Deb Fischer of Nebraska. It was signed into law in 2020.
Click through for story. I don’t think I have handled cash since the start of the pandemic … so this went over my head. Which is a pity – because these are all remarkab;e and truly diverse women, and while I knew of some, I don’t think I knew as many as half.
Food For Thought
