Weekly Ephemera #106

OᐧMᐧG.  Seriously?!?  What a freaking week.

• The insurance adjuster came by to evaluate the hail damage to our house.  After hearing what his report said, our roofer called the adjuster "an idiot!"  This coming week either our roofer will provide proof of additional damage, or I will ask our insurance agent for a visit from a different adjuster - this time our roofer will be on the roof with them.  I was hoping for an easy process but it doesn't seem like it's going to be that simple.  More to come.
• On Thursday we were leaving Omaha to visit family in Minnesota with a side trip to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue in South Dakota.  This didn't start out well.  On the way out of the city a car on my right veered into my lane.  I responded by veering to my left to avoid a collision.  This resulted in our car being hit by a semi.  After a lot of spinning, cursing, and sheer panic the car came to a rest pointing nose in at the center median barrier,  We were not hurt (we would be sore the next day or two).  We were not hit by any other cars.  Our airbags didn't even go off - our car's nose scraped the barrier but didn't actually hit it head on.
  
  The asshole who swerved into our lane was never seen again.  The truck driver stopped and asked us if we were alright.  The back driver's side door was mangled and the wheel well scraped against the tire now.  Highway patrol stopped traffic so we could limp off the freeway into a parking lot where we called a tow truck.  The car was towed to a body shop.  We took an Uber back home, got in the Wife's car, and completed our trip as planned.
  
  When I filed my insurance claim over the phone and described the condition of the car, we were told it would very likely be considered totaled.  If this is confirmed then I'll be looking for a new car this week.
• Our visit to the "Dignity of Earth and Sky" statue was in the rain but we had enough of a break in the weather to get out of the car to get good pictures.  The statue is at a South Dakota visitor's center on a bluff overlooking the Missouri river.  The view from there, despite the rain, was amazing.  The rain precluded taking any good pictures of said view though.
  
  

  

  "Dignity of Earth and Sky"

  We followed the statue visit with a visit to the Atka Lakota Museum and Cultural Center in nearby Chamberlain.  The museum is located on the Saint Joseph's Indian School campus.  The museum covered Lakota history as well as school history.  Very interesting.  To support the museum and school we dropped some money in the gift shop.
  
  

  

  The inside of the school church.

  On the way out we visited the school Church.  The lights were off when we entered and the Wife started flicking switches on and off to see if she could get the lights on.  Turns out she was turning the confessional lights on and off.  We took some low light pictures before discovering the sign in the hall pointing out the button to light the church interior.  The 'picture' behind the altar is actually beadwork.
• In Minneapolis we had a good day visiting with family, watching a cousin's baseball game, and celebrating the seventieth birthday of the Matron of Honor and Best Man.  There were a lot of people, and dogs, at the party and despite being tired (and a bit sore from the accident) I recovered as the party went on and I enjoyed the people and conversation.
• Oh yeah ... Saturday was my Birthday too.  Whoopee.  With the house, Mom, and now the car I don't really feel like celebrating my new year.  I was hoping this weekend away would help me relax and relieve some of the stress I've been living with but I returned home with more on my shoulders.

Weekly Ephemera #105

I totally forgot about my weekly post this weekend.  I have to say that my brain has become a quagmire lately and I'm lucky if the right things bubble up at the right time for me to function.  It didn't help that the news exploded on Saturday.  Here is what happened last week:

• Last Monday a roofer stopped by to evaluate the hail damage.  Despite having hail resistant shingles, our roof had significant damage.  I filed a claim with our homeowner's insurance and an insurance adjuster will be here this week to inspect the damage.
• Thursday was our twenty-seventh wedding anniversary.  We celebrated by visiting an elder care attorney, setting up durable power of attorney for my Mom, and eating delicious burgers at Stella's Bar and Grill.  The elder care attorney is putting together options for how we can fund the services Mom needs to be happy and safe.  The follow up of this meeting is scheduled for next Monday.
  
  One benefit of all this is, when Mom's situation is all settled, we will know what we need to do to prepare for our future care.
• I walked three times this week for a total of 19 miles (30.6 km).  I was going to walk today (Monday) but it felt like 88℉ (31℃) at the time I normally would have started and it was just heading up from there.  The humidity is a bit stifling to say the least.  Fortunately temperatures are supposed to moderate after today.
• We caught up to the current episode of "Alone".  We are still catching up with "Alone: Australia" and discovered today that there is an "Alone: UK".   We should be totally caught up this week.
  
• At the end of this week the Wife and I are going to Minneapolis to celebrate birthdays.  I think I need the break from reality.  Next week's Ephemera post will likely be late as well.

Weekly Ephemera #104

• A week ago I got a call from the rehab center my Mom is at.  She had gotten out of bed and fallen.  They said she was not physically injured.  On Monday morning I received another call.  Mom had a large knot on her head and she was incoherent so they sent her to the hospital.  (The incoherence was probably a bad side effect of a muscle relaxer she'd been given for severe shoulder muscle cramping she was experiencing.)  When I got to the hospital she'd had a CT scan which showed her head to be fine but ... she had a bad fracture on her right hip.  *sigh*
  
  She was transported to another hospital where, on Tuesday afternoon, she had her hip fixed.  From Sunday afternoon, when she was on the muscle relaxer, to Tuesday after her surgery, when she was on fentanyl, Mom was pretty much hallucinating.  She has no memory of the fall and only a little of the surgery.  By Wednesday she was off all the hardcore drugs and her lucidity returned.
  
  After spending the fourth of July in the hospital, she returned to the rehab center on Friday.  She is now in a private room (she had been in a double room) not far from the nurses station.  She restarts physical therapy (PT) this week with modifications due to her hip repair.  The PT evaluation this weekend was pretty good.  I expected a broken hip would take more time to heal but she has few restrictions.
  
• We sat out on our deck and watched a half hour of the fireworks on Independence Day.  You could smell the smoke in the air.  I just hope this isn't the last true Independence Day celebration.  I hope yours was fun and safe.
• I didn't walk this week due to all the things.  I will restart this week.
• We are still watching "Alone".  We should be caught up to the present this week.  I finally caught up with my Marvel stuff and finished "What If...?" season 2.  I liked it.
• I am tired.

Weekly Ephemera #103

• Mom continues to recuperate at the rehab facility.  The pain in her back is nearly gone and the sciatic pain in her leg is becoming less frequent.  Unfortunately the pain in her neck as she heals is taking its sweet time going away.  This week she goes to her first post-op doctor's visit to get her staples removed.
  
  To keep Mom's options open, the Wife and I visited an assisted living facility.  The place was like a resort.  We left there thinking we would like to move in there someday.
• June has been crappy when it comes to people's health.  Multiple people in our families are dealing with all sorts of health issues.  It's all a bit overwhelming at times.  It's been a tough month.
• On Thursday we watched the presidential debate.  It went from bad to worse.  As I watched it I flashed back to how I felt on election night 2016.  It feels like things are changing and not in a good way.
• We had a hail storm this week.  The slow moving storm parked over our house and hailstones larger than golf balls but smaller than tennis balls wreaked havoc on our lawn furniture.  The sound of the stones hitting our picture window was horrific.  Fortunately all our windows are intact but frames and some screens have some damage.  We have roofers and window people coming to inspect for damage and give us estimates for any required repairs.
  
  

  

  One of our chairs with ten hailstone holes.
  (Photo taken by the Wife)

• I restarted walking this week after a nearly four week hiatus.  I walked twice, including on a day when it was nearly 100℉ (38℃), for a total of 13.9 miles (22.4 km).  It felt good getting back out in the fresh air but my body didn't enjoy it as much.  The hiatus didn't help. 

Weekly Ephemera #102

This week has been an exhaustive one though, to be honest, I'm not sure why.  Here was the week that was:

• The dominant theme this week was my Mom's spinal surgery and the beginning of her recovery.  The surgery went without a hitch.  Mom was a tad worried about how her age would impact the procedure and, it turns out, it didn't affect anything.
  
  Mom stayed in the hospital three nights to let everything stabilize.  On Thursday she was moved to a live-in rehabilitation center.  The length of her stay will be determined by progress with her physical therapy.  Starting tomorrow she will have physical and occupational therapy daily to help her regain her independence.
  
  It's still early but Mom says the pain in her lower back seems to be almost gone (Huzzah!) but her sciatic pain in her leg remains  (too soon to determine if it has improved or is the same).  She still has issues with moving her legs smoothly while walking.  This is most likely more of a Parkinson's issue than a back issue.  Her physical therapy will work on that.
• Our sprinkler system has been fixed ... for a hefty price naturally.
• Friday I had a minor panic when I discovered all my Google docs/sheets created after 2019 had disappeared.  I was pleasantly surprised to find it easy to contact a Google support person who recovered all my files.  I promptly changed my passwords.  I have to say I am not pleasant to be around when I'm in a panic. 😈
• I haven't walked for ages it seems.  I hope to restart once again this coming week despite the 100℉ plus (38℃ plus) heat indexes early this week.
• I haven't really had a chance to nap this week which is probably why I have been feeling grumpy, overwhelmed, and exhausted most of this week.  I'll have to talk about how much I've been napping this year (excluding this last week).  Suffice it to say I have been napping a lot this year.  Makes me feel old.

Happy Solstice!

I hope everyone has a long, safe, summer solstice today.  By all measures, Summer has begun.  Get out and Enjoy it!

Tampa 2024 - Magnets Edition

I am finally catching up with the magnet posts - just four to eight months late.  The last batch was acquired during our Tampa trip last January.  Here are a few of my favorites from the trip:

A rooster from Ybor City.

This picture really doesn't capture the 3-D effect of this sunset magnet.

Salvador Dali.

Unfortunately the skydiving place did not have magnets (nor any pins or keychains I could have made into magnets). A lost opportunity for the skydiving school.

You can see the Magnets I've posted by clicking on the Travel Magnets tab above or going to my 2006-2024 Travel Magnets Google Photos album.

Weekly Ephemera #101

"May you live in interesting times" ...

 or, in our case, June.

• In the last Weekly Ephemera post I mentioned we canceled our Camino trip and we would try to move Mom's spinal surgery.  At the time of that post I really doubted we could reschedule the surgery.  We called Monday and to my utter surprise Mom's surgery was rescheduled for ... tomorrow.  On Friday we had a long day full of pre-op examinations and tests.  The next few weeks - starting on Monday at 5:00am - will be interesting to say the least.
• We continued to deep clean the house in preparation for the Wife's cousin and aunt's visit this week ... until the cousin called to cancel due to unexpected health issues.  The cleaning wasn't a waste but it's probably safe to say we won't be deep cleaning the house again for another decade or so.
• On Wednesday morning, the day we would have flown to Spain for the Wife's Camino, I noticed the automatic sprinklers did not come on.  Turns out the controller died.  If we'd gone to Spain the grass and gardens would not have been watered during the 80℉ to 90℉ (26℃ to 32℃) temps we are experiencing and we would have returned in three weeksto a dead lawn.  The sprinkler people are coming on Monday.
• Wednesday evening we had some crazy weather with wind, rain, and hail (pea to quarter sized).  The clouds and lightning was incredible.

  

  Storm clouds with a peak of blue.

  
  

  

  Sun lit storm clouds.

  
  

  

  A little bit of lightning.

• I did not walk this week and, frankly, I'm not sure when I will restart my walking.  Depends on my Mom's schedule really.  My body is starting to miss it.
• As for my entertainment for the week, it was basically the same as last week - "Alone" and "Doctor Who".

Southeast Asia 2023 - Cambodia Magnet Edition

Finally, after only seven months, here are the last magnets from our southeast Asia trip last fall.  We only had a handful of magnets from Cambodia.

A carved face from Angkor Wat.

A basic photo magnet of monks at a temple. (This is a terrible scan.)

A keychain from our Cambodian balloon ride
which will be converted into a magnet.

I will add photos from our trip to Tampa soon.  You can see the Magnets I've posted by clicking on the Travel Magnets tab above or going to my 2006-2024 Travel Magnets Google Photos album.

Southeast Asia 2023 - Vietnam Magnet Edition

 We collected more magnets in Vietnam.  Here are a few favorites:

Vietnamese man and woman.

An island temple in Hanoi on bamboo.

A boat on HaLong Bay made of coiled paper.

An AO Show performer in Saigon on wood.

You can see the Magnets I've posted by clicking on the Travel Magnets tab above or going to my 2006-2024 Travel Magnets Google Photos album.