AL - Recording baby steps: Newest Addition

[AL]

Whew! Finally making it back through. What a crazy couple of weeks.

My mom finally made it to a rehab today. She likes it, the folks are nice and it is rated 5 star by some national agency. They told her they won't begin her physical therapy until Monday. I think they are going to use a lift to put her in a wheelchair which will be wonderful for her physically and mentally. She pulls a wheelchair around at home so maybe it will help strengthen her legs some. Here's hoping and praying.

My cabbage and broccoli are booming. I covered them with a sheet before coming in to work, supposed to frost tonight. Some folks have said not to worry about a frost but I don't want to lose my little veggies after coming so far.
I am stocking up composted cow manure, rabbit manure / straw and horse manure. I have put straw in the chicken house for them to compost for me. I bought a couple of bags of mushroom compost. I think the spring garden will be a bunch of raised beds instead of me trying to till up the "lawn" that my garden lot has become. I'll just till a couple of rows for peas and corn.
The fenceline trellis for my garden peas will need to be tilled and cleaned up before January. My mom said if getting those garden peas going meant I didn't vist her, for me to stay home! We really enjoyed them this past early spring and I didn't plant nearly enough.

Pat the bullied hen has 3 remaining defectors with her. Crazy Agnes and the other psycho BO were starting to beat up on Pat so I exiled them back to the big flock. I have to do something with those extra roosters, but they are so huge and beautiful. Except little Solo and I think he is cool because out of nowhere he has a huge comb and wattles.

Rio is having knee surgery on Monday. He was supposed to have it this past week but the surgeon cancelled because his front desk overbooked him.

With all that is going on I haven't been able to work Buddy as much, but he is still doing well. It may just be wishful imagining but I think his rump may be getting taller which means a growth spurt. Anytime the temps are in the 30's I haul warm water with apple juice out to Skye, and Buddy sneaks a sip for himself.

I got home from work the other night and Oops, my black and white dwarf rabbit, was out in the backyard. I put the dogs out of the fence and figured I was in for an all night ordeal chasing the unfriendly thing. Instead, I called for him and he came hurrying to me! It took a couple of slow, measured tries but I finally scooped him up and put him back in the hutch with Cheeto. I was so surprised!! Usually he darts away even in the cage if I try to touch him.

Busy busy stuff....

 

[Farmfresh]

So glad to here the good news about your mom. I know she will feel so much better doing the rehab. It will be hard work, but she will start to make progress and that will help her mood lift so much! I will keep praying for you both.

 

[AL]

Thanks FF
My mom is still in rehab but I am not so impressed with the place. She and my dad had a meeting with the physical therapist, social worker and administrator today expressing their concerns. She gets about 30 min of PT a day mon - fri and then rarely sees any other staff. My dad does most of her helping and when I am there we do some sitting on the side of the bed exercises,e tc.
They agreed to stay until 12/2 (Medicare stops paying 100% then) and the social worker said if it is needed at that point she will get home health, a lift and a hospital bed to my folks house.

My satsuma tree was buckled under all of the fruit. I gave my counselor's office 3 regular walmart bags and a bigger bag full over the last couple of weeks. I also took a bag to my vet, to the rehab and 2 bags to work!! I couldn't keep up with them and now the last of them are starting to rot or dry up. But now the kumquat tree is busting with a ton of fruit.
The persimmon tree also has fruit rotting on the limbs. Everytime I look at it I wish I had some pigs!!

My cabbage is just making heads and I can't tell anything about the broccoli. Our temps were in the 80s today, so hopefully we still have time before a freeze.

Most of the hens have recovered from their molt and are laying again. There are a few defectors still living with little Pat. All but the psycho BO (that beats up Rio) and the raggedy RIR have fattened up and grown back feathers. The BO is fat enough, but still bald. The RIR may need some one one one attention to put on some weight.

Rio had his 2nd ACL surgery 11/14. He is doing... ok I guess. Favors this leg a LOT more than I remember him doing his right leg, and he doesn't like me doing the physical therapy / massage. I hope he does ok and we can move on from this leg drama!!

 

[AL]

I see the craziness continues.... *sighs and shakes head*

Anyway
- mom is still in the rehab. I think she may come home this week - not because she is standing on her own, but because Medicare stops paying the 100% for the home, and she isn't getting enough help there to merit paying for it. The social services will send a hospital bed, home healthcare and home physical therapy. There will be issues and difficulties, but I guess we'll work through it. Hopefully we will be able to work with her a little more than they do at the home.

I took Rio with me today to visit her and he was great. He is still just a little too excitable to visit other residents though - one lady called him over and he shoved his big old head into her arms. She laughed but it scared me, he's jsut too big!

- I think Buddy may be having a little growth spurt. . My nephews rode him a week or so ago. I saddled him up, put a bridle on him but led him with a lead rope - he was an old pro. It looked hilarious for my 6ft nephew to be on little Buddy though lol.

- Last week Rio and Rags rounded up a possum out of my folks persimmon tree. I called them off... I don't mind finding a dead possum or shooting one, but I can't watch dogs maul one to death. Then, last night they stirred up some rats in my feed shed. I didn't mind the dogs killing them!!

- My cabbage is a little bigger than baseball sized and my broccoli is cruising right along. Cauliflower hasn't done much so I figure it is a loss. Usually this time of year the timbers I want to use for raised beds cost about $1.47... but they are still nearly $4~ Looks like I will be recycling scrap privacy fence boards, etc!! I don't know when I will ever have time, but I need to till the big garden lot and lay out newspaper etc.

- I work out with a personal trainer 1x a week and it is going great! I can see my weight loss and I can see / feel the toning in my arms and legs. My friend is going to start working out with me next week so I will be more reliable about going on the days I don't work out with the trainer. We also walk 3 miles on Saturdays.

This week the weather has shifted to cold and I love it!! Today's high was only 51*. It will, of course, ease up higher through the week... I think Saturday is to be high of 67*. But I still love it while it is here.

 

[Denim Deb]

It was cooler for you than it was for me! It got up to 72* today, and it's only down to 56* now. But they're only calling for a high in the 40s on Saturday.

 

[FarmerChick]

AL I am really glad your mom is walking now. It will be difficult at home for sure. But with all the help that will be coming, it sounds like a controllable situation. And you know your Mom will be so happy coming home. There is no better place to recover than at your own home.
Hope all goes well.


glad the horse is doing well! You seem to really like that little bugger

good deal on the health/exercise schedule. It makes you feel so good doesn't it? You keep going! I am glad you checked in.

 

[AL]

our wind chill was 25 last night.

My mom isn't walking yet, FC.. in fact she is still unable to stand on her own. She just got home and they had the fire department come put her to bed. I don't know what to expect.

I was trying to come back and just mind my own business, but every. single. day. There is some new topic started about how "we all need to get past the hurt", "I'm so glad everyone has moved on" "this is the best day EVER because YOU are here with ME"
Isn't part of getting past it just letting it go? I get so frustrated with it I don't even go to the 'recent posts' anymore. Just a couple of journals and here. Kinda moots the whole point. *sigh*

Anyway - have a week off work in December so I can just stay home and have some time to myself, hopefully. I am not sure it will be a "vacation" though because I am going to lock myself in my house and at least get it to the point it won't be mistake for a "Hoarders" episode. Then I need to till the big garden plot and start working on raised beds. I haven't worked Buddy in over a week so he is going to be a booger, especially now that it is cold and he is feeling frisky.
I'll go Christmas shopping, walk in a 5k, hear my nephew's middle school Christmas concert and celebrate my parent's 57th anniversary.

 

[AL]

With my mom being home, stress and drama at work and just the normal chaos that my life has become... I forgot to cover my cabbage and brocc last night. We had a light freeze. My grandad used to say if he wet down his frosted crops before the sun hit them, they survived. So I tried it. If they die I have some fresh veggies and plants for the rabbits.

good grief

 

[FarmerChick]

oh I misread your post about your mom. I can understand your wondering what to expect. Hopefully with the home care that will come to help it will all come out well for her. You can only do so much in these situations.


I never heard what you just said your Grandpa said. very interesting. funny thing is it might work, let me know. Cause the older generation always had tons of tricks to keep food on the table as long as they could from their gardens. All those pearls of wisdom we seem to lose all the time. but if they don't make it, rabbit food backup is still good to use it up.

 

[AL]

For a day or 2 it was even debatable the insurance was going to send home healthcare out... but hopefully things are sorted now (insurance blaming the nursing home's social services, social services blaming the insurance... blah blah). I will be glad when we can figure out our new "normal" and stick to it. She didn't make much progress at the rehab, but it is all being lost while she lays around waiting on them to point fingers.

Anyway.

My cabbage seems fine after the freeze, the broccoli is more questionable. I'll give it until mid-week (that is when it is supposed to dip into the 30s again) and then I am just going to pull it up and chop it for rabbit food.

Friday night I was SOOO exhausted. I had gotten up early for an appointment at 8am, left there for a session with the personal trainer at 930am, and then hurried home to get my parent's dog to the vet by 1030am. As soon as I got home I fixed lunch for my folks and then started laundry. I was going to N' Orleans with a bunch from my work on Saturday, so my plan was to help my mom around 8pm and then go to bed.

Well... I helped my mom, went home to tend the animals and Skye - my 29yr old mare- was trying to colic. She doesn't drink much water when it is cold weather, so she dehydrates, gets constipated and colics - resulting in a very expensive vet bill. So I haul warm water to her. Except I didn't on Friday because I was busy and tired and forgot. I gave her warm water with apple juice in it and she wouldn't have it. Soaked her hay in warm water and apple juice - no joy. I shut her in Buddy's little paddock with the water and hay and went on to bed. My alarm went off at 1230am and I went to help my mom and check on Skye. My mom was fine but Skye seemed to be a little more fidgety. Great.

I gave her a shot of Banamine and took her to the lot between my house and my parents so she would be easy to find in the dark. I moved her hay and gave her a fresh bucket of warm water and after about 20 minutes (for the shot to kick in) she started eating and drinking. I went to bed again around 130 and my alarm went off at 430. Good times. But Skye did fine and continued to eat and drink. Now I need to find the $ to go to the vet and get another Banamine shot to have on hand.


I have started thinking a little more in detail about how I want to do my spring garden. I have to pull up the West fence so I can till there and plant my garden peas along that fence once I replace it. I'll have several raised beds (squash, zuke, tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc) , and then plant my southern peas (blackeyed, pink eyed purple hull, Mississippi Silverskins) and corn in long rows. Hopefully the garden will be a little easier to keep up with that way.