OT December Chit Chat

[agate]

Heh. You have to draw the line somewhere, I guess. Affection for cats is all very well, but kissing them isn't something I'd want to do either.

It's not that they're not appealing--it's that they can turn against you in a lightning-flash moment, and then watch out. If a cat didn't happen to go for the kissing idea, you'd get bitten and/or scratched.

[Howie]

Well, I do kiss them on the top of their heads now and then, but on the mouth, I draw the line!

[Whisper]

Hello folks! Been extremely busy around here. The grandchildren who live with me are at an age where they do not like to go unnoticed!!! It's always so hectic here. I seldom have time to even come in and read the posts. That, and I forgot my password a month or 2 ago and couldn't get in...but today it just came to me, so, here I am! I am going to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and any other holiday that you may enjoy and celebrate, in case I don't get back in again. Thank you all for being here for me over the years. You have all been very welcoming and helpful. And on that happy note, I must run (if only I could. lol ) Will see you again, hopefully closer to the holidays...

[agate]

Hi Whisper (Lorraine)!

Thank you for checking in. Wish you didn't have to be so busy in other places but it's good that you're useful and wanted, and I'm sure you are.

Glad you remembered your password. I believe that BrainTalk would send it to you if it happens again.

Happy holidays to you and your family!

[stillstANNding]

Hi Lorraine!

Thanks for coming in and letting us know you are enjoying the family.

Good health to you in the new year!

ANN

[Howie]

Posting now and then is WAY better than not at all. I used to babysit my grand niece now and then when she was 3-4, and it would wear me out. But I had the advantage of having her parents take her back! WHEW!

[Virginia]

Lorraine, so good to hear from you. Please try to drop in more often next year. We always want to hear how you and little ones are doing.

By the way, Nuthatch (Joan) we think it is getting time for more pictures from you. We don't want your little ones to get too big before we keep up with them.

Ann, I promise Agate is up before me every morning. Since I was going out yesterday I got up at 9:30A.M., but usually it is 10 or 10:30. I have seen her posting early too sometime and it confuses me because I keeping thinking "now where she is it would be 3 hours earlier".

I do go to bed quite a bit later than she does (I think). I either read or listen to music. If I try to go at a decent hour I cannot sleep, so even if tired I sit up pretty late in order to sleep.

I think Agate is very disciplined. I use to be all those years I worked, but now I am not. Well, about some things I still have discipline, but I am getting worse and worse.

Oh, another thing Ann, yesterday I stopped and bought some honey baked ham already sliced from the Honey Baked Ham store. I just happened to be passing. So when I went to the grocery store I got some green beans and red skin potatoes and thought I might boil some one day in honor of you and Sally. Tonight I am going to have a slice with potato salad and slaw.

[stillstANNding]

That ham is too good to boil, Virginia.

ANN

[Catdancer]

That ham is too good to boil, Virginia.

ANN

I think she boiled the potatoes......at least, I hope so! 😁

Sleeping: I am in bed by 9, and generally fall immediately to sleep. But then I wake up around 2:30 am, and often can't get back to sleep. Occasionally I'll fall asleep again around 4:30or 5, but Tom Cat gets up by 6:30 am, so I'm awake again. These days I'm up all day, so you'd think I'd sleep through the night...but I expect I'll be awake again. Annoying. But I have my kindle, so pull the blankets over my head (to block the light ), and read, or play on here or on Facebook.

[Catdancer]

Kissing cats: thanks to George Carlin, comedian: I don't know why everyone complains about having to give their cat a bath -- they talk about scratches and bites... I give my cat a bath every day! The cat seems to love it. I think it's a great way to bond with your pet. The only downside?



Getting all the fur off my tongue....

[Howie]

LOL!!!

[agate]

I'm on a fairly rigid schedule because it seems to work for me. I'm up between 7 and 7:45 AM though not ready to meet the world outside until closer to 10 at the earliest. I dawdle in the morning if I can get away with it.

I take a nap every afternoon, some time between 1 and 3. I usually sleep about an hour.

Then I'm on my way to bed by 11:30 and asleep by 12. I sometimes fall asleep while doing my end-of-day exercises.

I wake up at least twice at night for bathroom trips but go right back to sleep. I'm always tired.

[Virginia]

Agate, you don't go to bed as early as I thought. I go around 12:30 and sometime if I am real interested in a book make that one o'clock. But I do stay in bed the following morning. I find the mornings harder than the afternoon. Since I stay in bed so late in the morning I don't lay down in the afternoon.

[agate]

The schedule is a holdover from back when I had a real job. Nowadays the government is paying me real dollars to look after my health, and so that's my "job."

You get up in the morning and get to work, you work most of the day, and in the evening maybe you have time to relax. During much of the day I'm doing things I have to do rather than things I might want to do. Weekends are the same as other days for me though--I get no weekends off.

When MS slows you down, maybe you need more time just to do the basic stuff like laundry, bathing and dressing, making the bed, mending, housework, meal planning, shopping, cooking, finances, and especially using the bathroom. Even just making a phone call can be a project and a half by the time I find the number, dial it wrong a couple of times, figure out if I'm supposed to dial 1 first, and adjust the volume on the phone so I can hear, then drop the phone a couple of times.

[nuthatch]

Been following several threads, even though I don't post much lately. The election madness and the continuing aftermath has me depressed, so I've kind of gone into my shell for the time being. I am saddened as I watch the TV coverage of the horror in Syria and fall asleep tearfully praying every night. With the leader we now have, I'm worried about what the future holds for all of us, especially our sweet grandchildren.

We will be having both our kids here for Christmas this year. That should be great fun. The grandkids have never met before, since they live so far apart. Tula is now 14 months old and a happy girl, into everything. Everett is almost 5 months old and a little cutie. I'm trying to figure out how or where we can safely put up a Christmas tree!

The discussion on sleep habits was of interest to me. I'm much like Virginia, up late and a late riser. I wake up several times during the night spasming. My husband says I spasm in my sleep all the time. I sleep the most soundly between 6 and 10 a.m., but always immediately spasm as soon as I awaken.
I have been having a problem recently with dry mouth. It's as if my mouth quits producing saliva as soon as I go to bed. I don't have that problem while I'm up. Weird! I have to sip water all night, which makes for a sleepless night!

Waiting for a new electric wheelchair. It's being custom made to address my many issues. Getting it through Medicare, you have to jump through many hoops these days. I'm told Medicare has made it harder to get an electric wheelchair because many providers and doctors were ordering them unnecessarily. I do remember seeing the TV ads a few years ago. Medicare requires documented proof of necessity by a physical therapist and a doctor. Then it has to be approved by multiple government agencies. I started this process in July and won't get it until at least January!

As you requested, Virginia, here is pics of our growing grandchildren. Love them to pieces!