OT January Chit Chat II

[Gabriella7]

My oldest son did get in on Saturday from S. Carolina. He worked on cleaning up the junk on the computer that slips in while one is not looking. Saturday night my middle son David, Joe, Jr. and myself went to the movies. We saw "Saving Mr. Banks". It turned out to be a very thought provoking movie and very well acted. I would recommend it and "Philomenia" as well.

Tomorrow, my grandson William will be having jaw surgery to reposition his lower jaw which is not in alignment (birth defect). He is 24 and needed to wait until his jaw was not going to grow any more. I'm praying all will turn out well and he will not be in too much pain for very long. The clean up continues when Joe, jr. comes back in a few weeks. We are going to tackle Joe, Sr's office. I don't know what we will find.

While cleaning in the dining room David found a letter Joe had written to me in a desk drawer where I kept old greeting cards from past birthdays, mother's day, valentine, etc. He evidently knew he had a fatal disease at some past time. He didn't date the letter so I don't know when that would be but it was definately written in a manner as to let me know he knew he needed to express his thoughts and love to me while he was still able to write.

In the rush to clean up living room and my desk before Christmas..... the key to the safety deposit box has been misplaced.

I have got to find that key! Another thing I probably put in a safe place!

Blessings,
Gabriella

[Howie]

[Mal L]

There seem to be some postings about the lack of entries into this (Braintalk) forum. Hopefully, this situation will be improved.

[Mal L]

Two possible topics could be - the weather - and (?).

[Mal L]

#2: caregiving.

[Virginia]

Hi Mal L, welcome to chitchat thread. I see that you are a member of BrainTalk, but I do not recall seeing you here before. We do talk a lot about the weather and what each person is doing on this particular thread, but some times caregiving is brought up. We have one lady who has been doing a lot of that for her Mom and Dad (especially Dad) who live quite a distance from her. There are others who probably have had experience with needing one or being one. Feel free to jump in and start a conversation or a new thread on caregiving.

Well, I had a rather interesting night last night - actually make that a very early interesting morning. A little after 4AM as I was sleeping away, I was rudely awakened by my fire alarm malfunctioning. Boy are those things loud!!! It went off and I went immediately from sleeping to a sitting straight up in bed position. At first I thought it was my burglar alarm. I got up and put my housecoat on and made my way down the hall where I could see into the living and dining area and all was fine - front door and back were not disturbed and all windows fine. I didn't bother to go upstairs because I knew if anyone got in it would be downstairs. I have two fire alarms - one put in when the place was new in 1993 and the other I had installed a little over 3 years ago. They are side by side and I couldn't tell which one was going off. I first got a broom and tried hitting the older one with the handle. That did nothing. I then decided to call the people that installed my alarm system and find out how to turn that one off in case it was the one. Well, the noise was so loud and I got addled in trying to look for their number in the file drawer of my desk. I ended up calling the people that I have a home warranty with. When I got someone on the line I asked how to turn the system off that they installed. Of course all this time the alarm could be heard over the phone. Anyway the lady said we did not install a fire alarm in your house and I said yes you did and she said no we did not and went on to tell me what I had had done. At that point I said I am so sorry I meant to call the people who installed my alarm. Then I had to look in my desk for their number and call them. They had me go to my key pad and key in something that told them that it was not their alarm. At that point I called 911 and got the fire department to come. They were so very nice. Three men came. I had told the lady that everything was fine, but I just could not reach the alarm to get it stopped. Anyway, they came with flashing lights, but at least no sirens. I turned on my porch light and went out on the sidewalk and waved so they would know which house it was. Do you know how cold it was here at about 4:30 this morning. I think it was 17 degrees and I noticed the wind was blowing. I did wish I had my niece here. Two of them were really cute. I had taken my usual Ambien last night, but I noticed that I was wide awake when I needed to be. Hope Cherie reads that part.

It did not get out of the 20s here today, but I went out anyway. I needed to get groceries and I met my two brothers and one wife (other one sick) for supper. Enjoyed that. One of them has invited all of us to get together at their house for super bowl a week from Sunday. They are going to have us all over for dinner. I will take something, but not sure what at this time.

Gabriella, that is so sweet that you have the letter Joe wrote to you. I am glad that it was found and did not get inadvertently thrown away. Sounds like you, with the help of your sons, are making some headway into getting things organized and in good order.

Howie, like your Friday smile. It is a big one.

See you all later.

[Howie]

But Virginia, most people like my thong.....OH, you mean what I posted. Thanks!

[agate]

Virginia, your experience with the fire alarm makes a person wonder if all of the safety and security precautions we now have in place are worth the nuisance involved.

In my neighborhood car alarms are always going off for no known reason.

All of these smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, intruder detectors--they're all so many gadgets that are apt to have something go wrong with them.

For a while I had a smoke detector that wouldn't stop beeping if its battery needed changing. You could take the old battery out and the thing kept beeping, every few seconds.

You don't always have a 9v battery sitting around and maybe it's late at night and you don't feel like getting dressed and going out to find an open store that will sell you one.

Of course you have to have a functioning fire alarm, but what a shame it couldn't work right or at least be easily fixable.


Howie, careful there. Just keep the thong on and everything should be all right.

[Gabriella7]

The weather is nice and sunny today and the temps are warming up into the 40's for a nice change. In cleaning out I came across a very informative booklet on cognitive problems in MS. I think it explains what is happening to me currently. I wanted to get some copies for the rest of the family but have not had any luck with the website that is listed on the brochure.

It states "Additional copies of this pamphlet may be obtained by contacting the International Organization of MS Nurses at Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register... or via email at infor@iomsm.org." I will try the email today.

Maybe Cherie will come on board and let me know if it is available as this copy is dated 2003. I believe she is a member of this organization of MS nurses.

Hope she can help as this is a very good resource for all of us and especially those of us who have lived with this disease for so very long. I'm still searching for the safe deposit key.

Blessings,
Gabriella

[Cherie]

Found you!

Peg,
Sorry to hear about the blood clots and the shots. I hear they really can sting!

Gary,
Glad to hear that the thumb is healing and you are taking precautions to not let this happen again. Great about the family Disney trip! I am thrilled for you.

Howie,
I missed your posting
The craziness you brought here
I am glad you're back

Virginia,
How do you keep track of us all?

Gabriella,
Stay safe and warm

Agate,
Sent you a link to an article I was quoted in today.

Well, that little storm earlier this week left us with about 8 inches of light powder and temps in single digits for a couple of days. Today it is above freezing, the snow is compacting, and the wind has been in the 30-40mph range all day. Got more done on tax prep. Whittling away at it. Sleeping so much better on Halcion than Ambien with no blackouts. My energy and cognition are improving by leaps and bounds the past few days and David says I seem so much happier. Amazing what a good night's sleep can do.

Mom and Dad are fading. Dad has had a couple of days each of the past three weeks where he hasn't left the house or Driven anywhere. This is a real downturn for him. And his PSA is going up again and he has lost 10 more pounds in the past three months. But the Oncologist says he does not need to see him back till Spring so I guess I will not be back up there barring an emergency till early April. His Internist is giving him his monthly injection and he's getting his bloodwork locally and his current chemo is oral.

Be well all. Off to 5PM mass and dinner at a nice restaurant with our 90 year old friend afterwards. Later...

[nuthatch]

Hello all,
Just thought I'd post the link to a deal for the computer program, Dragon Naturally Speaking. I know a lot of people on this forum use it and is great for people with dexterity issues. This deal combined with the $20 rebate makes it free. You'd only pay for shipping. I'm sure it's only for a limited time.
Here's the link: Only registered and activated users can see links., Click Here To Register...

[Howie]

My new laptop has that program, or one like it, built into it. I had to buy a headset with mic, so it wasn't free like your setup. I have only used it one day, just to get used to it. It was very easy to learn. A really useful technology.

[Cherie]

Thanks for the link .

We've had an inch of new snow since 6PM with temps now around 20.

[Whisper]

Hello everyone. I just wanted to say hi and let you all know I'm keep up on your antics. Especially you Howie! Hoping 2014 is a good year for all...
Lorraine:)

[SalpalSally]

Hi Lorraine, nice to hear from you.

Hi Joan/Nuthatch, nice to hear from you also.