Work, play and cleaning

It is one of those multi-function days.

I got up relatively early and headed to The Smith to test a few things. The HDMI splitter started working again, which is good and confusing. We shall see if it works for the projectionist on Thursday, as she has a DVD film to show. I also tested the DVD, added a trailer to the playlists, called the electrician about when he would be coming to start work on some lighting work that we requested a month ago (sigh) and blew out the rusty boiler water. Phew! I also went to the bank and checked in with the people who do the kiosk for us.

After that, a quick trip to the grocery store, where I got some huge beets!! Yay. I had my beet, apple, carrot and lime juice this morning. Yum. I also did my yoga. Sadly, the only thing that I have actually accomplished every day so far this year is writing my blog. So far, so good. Oh, and I have been doing my Daily Challenge response every day. Baby steps.

When I got back from my tough morning, I played for a little bit. I am playing Dishonored which has been enjoyable so far. A cross between an FPS (first person shooter) and an RPG (Role Playing Game). Fun stuff. I have gotten stuck a couple of times, but many people have gone before, so there is help aplenty on the internet.

Next up, room cleaning. My room hasn't been cleaned in at least a year. I was going to take a "before" picture, but that would sort of defeat the purpose of cleaning my room. I might take an after picture, just so that I can look and see what my room looks like when it is neat (ish). I don't mind a messy room, or a chaotic space, generally. Weird, right?

Wow, it really wasn't all that dirty - just cluttered. The status of my existence just now. Maybe one day I will be down to the minimum amount of belongings and stuff, but that day will be a long way in my future, I fear...next step - dusting - and then vacuuming. Yippee!

Augustus, vacuum cleaner repairman! So, I started to vacuum my room and noticed that the bag wasn't inflating. Oh no, Mr. Bill! (I am reading a book about Saturday Night Live) I took the thing apart and got out the clog (the entire tube was filled - I think we kept the last bag in too long...). It was not as easy as it could have been - but it is done now - and my room is as clean as it is ever going to get. Huzzuh! Time to cook dinner and chillax!

Sleepy Dreams of Nursing Homes

So, it was another bad night here at Chez Schoen-René. I really wish more was understood about the brain and especially the brain of my mom. She basically slept all day. Woke up a couple of times to eat lunch and get a shower - then Zzzzzzz for the rest of the day - until dinner time - which she only woke up for because I put food in her lap. Ate the food and then zzzzzzz. Then back upstairs - 'cause it was cold downstairs - where she slept for the next four hours till about midnight. At which point, I was winding down, getting ready for my sleep time. So what happens? She starts talking and being awake. And asking what she was supposed to be doing. And where she was going. And where was she. And what should she be doing. Etc. I told her to please be quiet as I was trying to sleep. This worked for about an hour when she started calling for me and telling me she needed me. When I asked why, she said because she needed help to the bathroom. I told her to help herself, I was sleeping. Which she did. Which I did. Then, another hour later...you get the picture. It is now 8:48 am as I start this post, I have been up for an hour after she called out again (fourth or fifth time) that she needed help. And she was hungry and what should she be doing...Gave her a yogurt so I guess I have about 45 minutes until...

I am conflicted about putting mom in a nursing home. They seem like scary black boxes to me - when I am not there, they could do anything to her - or not do anything to her - both of which scare me. She can't sleep - so they give her meds. She isn't awake - so they give her meds. She says she can't go to the bathroom - so they give her meds. I don't want my mom taking lots of meds! Medicine is ok - but the body generally knows what it is doing and does it better with basic care - food, water and rest - than it does with medicine. Just my humble opinion. And no, I am not anti-vaccination - it would, though, be good if vaccination's contents were enumerated and explained (for the adults - most kids wouldn't care, I don't think) - just anti-most medicine - eastern or western. Though eastern generally seems less invasive (except acupuncture - that is pretty pointedly (tee hee) invasive...).

It seems like sometimes staff and patients don't do anything at nursing homes. I have scary memories of visiting people in nursing homes and hearing a whole lot of moaning and bleating and crying out for help as I walked through the halls to find the person we were coming to visit. And the caretakers at the facility - probably - hopefully - doing their best to do what they could to ease the fears and pains of their charges. But who knows. They could just be nightmares that have been exaggerated over the years.

At home, I strive for mom to be as autonomous as I can let her be - as autonomous as she can be. I know that she can make it to the bathroom on her own - that she can make it back to her bedroom - that she can make her own dish of ice cream (though this might soon stop - since I found the ice cream container sitting on the counter after her last ice cream retrieval mission) - that she can, hmm, well, that's about it. She can put on her own robe, when push comes to shove.

At home, I try to feed her, keep her well watered and to let her, as best I can, be awake when she is awake and asleep when she is asleep - letting mom be mom. Letting mom be. I am afraid that in a nursing home, that wouldn't be the case. They would want mom to be who they wanted (thought they needed) her to be. It is all very confusing.

Then again, a nursing home might be great for her - she would have the staff to talk to and pay attention to her. Since she isn't bedridden, she would probably be able to talk with other patients (or whatever people in nursing homes are called these days.) And who knows, they might get her to exercise some. That would be great.

In any case, I will talk with the doctor on Monday and see what he has to say.

Two quick things - I wrote 31 posts last month! Huzzuh! I have done yoga every day since January first - except today. Yay and boo.

Four Sweaters Day

I'm I'm I'm just a-washin machine, baby don't work for nobody but me...

Because of the yogurt mishap yesterday, I ended up washing not one, not two, not three, but four, yes four sweaters. Two of mom's, two of mine. Yay clean sweaters. Boo brrr-y cold water on my little hands. And I can't find (ok, I barely looked) the second (I know we have another one, we have at least two of so many things)(like books, we have at least two books)(and I have at least two socks...) sweater/clothes drying rack like thing. One sweater is almost dry, a second is getting there, one doesn't seem to have any interest in being dry and the last is still relaxing in the tub, waiting for final wringing out-age before being stretched (hopefully not actually stretched beyond its original proportions) out to start the drying process. Yippee!

I am a computer god! Ok, not really, but I got to feel like one for an hour yesterday. A friend was having problems with her mac and I, Dudley Do Right (Jr.) rushed in to save the day. At least I hope so. We shall see if her problems persist. And I got cookies! Huzzuh!!

As far as the puzzle goes, I actually did combine a few loose pieces in various ways - too each other and to the bulk of the puzzle. Really, though, not much forward motion was accomplished. The year is young.

Two weeks (plus a day) of doing yoga - some meditation, some swinging, some complete breaths, a couple of sun salutes and a bit of a shoulder stand. Lots better than nothing!

ABC with VIB

For a while now, I have been doing the A(pples) B(eets) C(arrots) juice thing. As I mentioned elsewhere, I don't know that my hair is any shinier or that my eyes are brighter or anything, but I am pretty sure it isn't hurting. Though it is a bit pricey, all things considered. If I were really truly poor, I wouldn't be able to afford it. Anyway, to make the juice go down more smoothly (I don't really like the taste of beets), I add other fruit. Most recently, I have been adding a lemon, which helps a lot. Recently, I finished off some Vodka Infused with Blueberries. During that sip-fest, I ate a few of the blueberries. They weren't terrible or disgusting. But when the vodka was gone and just the blueberries were left, I was thinking about recycling them, and realized that the ultimate in recycling would be to add them to my ABC juice. Woo hoo! Just sayin'. Can't wait for my morning juice now!

Did I write about mom's echocardiogram experience? I have this feeling I did. I know I could check if I weren't feeling lazy. Suffice it to say it was pretty cool (until I fell asleep). We got the results back and there was nothing wrong there. We have to go and do more tests. Once we get her insurance straightened out. I got a bill for $80+ dollars for health insurance, which is supposed to be a monthly bill. How did mom's health insurance from RIT go from free to $80+ a month in less than a year? ACA? I hope to have everything figured out this week. And a little rant - what the hell is it with Open Enrollment? Grrrrr - why isn't health insurance available whenever someone wants or needs it rather than for a couple of weeks or months whenever the insurance companies want to let people have access to it? Get insurance companies out of Health Care!!!

Oh, I and I have done 1% of the year's worth of daily yoga! Woo hoo!

Back to the grind today - Smithward bound at some point today. Wish me luck!

One more thing before I sign off - I put out trash last night and we had a lot of wind. I am dreading looking outside to see if the trash is all over the place. Sigh.

2015 In Review

So, it was a good year. I cured Alzheimer's, won the lottery (twice) and found my forever-soulmate-partner. Oh, and I got some socks for Christmas (again - which is great, by the way - I love socks).

Seriously, who the heck knows what 2015 will be like. Hope springs eternal and I do hope I can look back and say that these things happened. Though the first is pretty unlikely (since I am not a research scientist), the second is a 600 million to one chance and the third is a one in 3.5 billion (assuming 7 billion people on the planet and that about half of them are women). But the last is almost a gimme. Yay socks!

I do hope to get back to a few things - like daily yoga - fell of the yoga wagon for a few months - blogging - I think I did maybe 25 last year - learning, growing (well, those two things will most likely continue to happen). Maybe what I need to do is to pick some project and go for it. Re-learn the trombone? Play more piano? Re-learn programming for the iPhone? Cut my hair? (Hahahahahaha) Though, have I mentioned, I have thought of going to school for hair styling. Or  maybe if I can find a school that teaches it, sonography? Finish one of the many books projects I have started? Or write a completely new one?

Most planning is difficult (probably impossible, really) since the future is uncertain. And I do have some issues at home to take care of. Like a really cluttered house (still looking for a friendly, helpful declutterer - maybe my future life partner?). And mom.

Anyway, 2015 will be what it will be. And hopefully it will be amazing. As 2014 was.

Back to yoga

Don't tell anyone, but for a few weeks, I wasn't doing my teeny weeny bit of yoga. On a side note, I am sad that I never convinced mom to take it upon herself to do yoga. I tried leading her to the water many times, but she wouldn't drink unless I held the dipper to her lips and massaged her throat. Sigh. Anyway, I wasn't doing it. Not a lick. I thought about it most days, but just couldn't seem to get around to it. Part of the issue was the state of my room. Not pretty. Luckily we had a visitor, whose imminent arrival prompted me to do a fairly thorough cleaning. I mean, I even vacuumed under and around the radiator! Eeek! Clean enough to eat off. Well, dirt never stopped me eating off the floor. Five second rule, ha! I laugh at the five second rule!

Ok, read on if you want to hear all about me and my yoga.

I started studying esoteric things when I was 15 or so. Boston/Cambridge had cool bookshops that smelled of incense and had sparkly crystals and things hanging all over the place. There, I read a lot about the various types of yoga. My senior year, as we were signing up for sports (it was mandatory to sign up for one physical activity every trimester) I noticed that a class in yoga was being offered. Huzzuh! So, for an entire semester I took a yoga class. It might have been during that class that Richard Hittleman's 28 Day Yoga Exercise plan was mentioned - or I came across it in one of the bookstores I patronized. I am not sure how it landed in my hands. But once the class was over, I decided I wanted to continue my studies and that was the book/manual I used. The next year, I taught my girlfriend (my first really long term adult relationship) about yoga. She got way into it and we even did yoga together sometimes.

At the time, I was rotating between the three different routines that are offered in the book. I also worked through Richard Hittleman's 30 Yoga Meditation Book and another book by someone else whose name escapes me. At this point, back in 1906 - no, that isn't right - 1980ish, I ended up doing one of four routines just about every day (except when I had partied a little too heartily the night before). I did this for most of the next five years. Sometimes twice a day.

In China, I studied a little T'ai Chi and did that while living there. I still did a little yoga on my own. When I got back to America, I let the t'ai chi slide and went back to doing yoga near every day. My habit was to make yoga the first thing I did in a day. Not absolutely first - but before I ate or drank anything. Not really sure where that came from. Decent habit though (which continues to this day).

Over the years, I told various people about yoga, like my mom, friends, girlfriends, random strangers on airplanes. Some picked it up and loved it - others tried it and moved on. I always told them - do what feels right - don't push yourself - it isn't a competition - find a teacher you like and take classes from them. I tried to follow this advice myself, taking classes here and there, sometimes on my own, sometimes at someone's suggestion. I was even tempted to do a yoga retreat or to get certified to teach yoga. Neither of those has happened. Yet. But I have yet to find a teacher that resonates - or a class that is as convenient as my bedroom floor.

For the past few years, not sure when it started, my yoga practice has been significantly reduced in scope. Basically it is a few twisty things - not really a yoga posture, but something one of my myriad girlfriends turned me on to (I think) - then five standing complete breaths - then two sunrise salutes - the non-jumpy kind. Sometimes I do a couple other things - depending on my mood and if something yoga like has been prescribed by Daily Challenge.

Then, in December, I stopped. Cold Turkey. Just stopped doing yoga. Until a couple of days ago. Truth be told, I am getting a lot of exercise working at the Smith. Still, I missed it. So I started again.

A little side story. I don't know if Karl remembers this - I think he has forgotten. Anyway. We were both home visiting mom for something - maybe her birthday - whatever - I was down stairs, he was heading up to sleep. He stopped part way up and said - are you still doing yoga? I said - yes. He said - I will pray for you. (He was in one of his churchy-phases.) I said - Thank you! Why? He said - Because you are going to hell. I said - Oh, that's nice. You do realize that yoga isn't a religion. He said - Doesn't matter - you're still going to hell.

Good night everyone.

The Answer was...

To yoga! I was kinda leaning that way all along, really. Though I was not feeling like doing it. But getting out a little is better than not getting out at all.

I got to the class that was being held in the rectory of my childhood church a bit before six. Turns out that I had met the instructor before - she helped out with the opera last summer. Lynn has been teaching yoga for about a year and a half. Three other students also came for the class. Mary, a school friend of my sister Juliet's, came up and said hello. She told me that she sometimes spent the night at the house. Must have been when the attic was still in use as a living space. Sad that it isn't livable just now. Anyway, that was nice. Another woman was Karen. Didn't learn too much about her. And Chrystie, who works at a winery as an Event Planner. We didn't really bond either. The class was enjoyable. Don't know if or when I will go back - it will be a Tuesday by Tuesday decision. Yay, no commitment! :)

It looks like we might get a bunch of winter this weekend. I wouldn't mind a few feet of snow. I figure if I am living in the North East, I might as well get some decent winter!

My plan is to do some FB friend letters, and then head to the lovely Beef and Brew for Beer Wednesday. Tonight's dinner will be Chicken from Wegman's, plus veggies and stuff. Yay! I do need some suggestions for new things to try. I feel a little food rutted. Last night I made eggrolls and fried rice. Yummy, but not exciting and new. Hmm.

Someone defriended me! Yay! Now I just have to figure out who it was...Yup, no way to figure it out. Either it will happen or it won't. Not too worried about it. One down, hopefully at least 7 more to go - I would like my friend list to be under 400...Or over four hundred as long as it is a quality 400. People who I actually know and have had some meaningful interaction with...

Right.

Thataway! :)

To Yoga or not to yoga

That is my question for the day. I don't have my yoga mat here - I somehow left it in Clayton - mistakenly thinking (I remember the thought process) that since there are rugs in the Geneva house, I didn't need my mat. And that is true, since I do my yoga in my room on my blue rug, I haven't found the need for my mat. (Ok, I keep looking around, hoping that I brought it anyway - I wrote my housemate to see if it was still down in Clayton, but she has yet to respond - I think I will write her son - he may actually respond...) Then, a yoga class appeared on the horizon. I am not much of a yoga class sort of person. Over the years (33 of them) that I have been doing yoga, I have taken maybe 10 classes (not including the trimester back in High School). I haven't really counted. Hmm. Suffice it to say that most of my yoga time has been self directed. And helped along with the Richard Hittleman books. So taking a yoga class is always a bit of a tough choice for me. We shall see how I feel as the day progresses and we get closer to 6 pm.

My minor epiphany last night was that I started doing yoga when I was 17. For the longest time (up until last night in fact) I always felt that I had started when I was eighteen. It was my winter trimester sport while at Andover. I wonder who else was in that class. Hmm. Anyway, my birthday is April 8 (Buying a copy of my books for yourself would be a great birthday present for me, by the way) so I was 17 when I was taking the class. Ok, I was excited by that epiphany.

I miss adult companionship. Not that my mom isn't an adult. But she is not in a mental state to be good company. I had some for a while, on a somewhat regular basis, but that seems to have disappeared. Game night is great, and helps. And going out to the Beef and Brew and other places, all fine and good. It just doesn't quite suffice. Don't get me wrong, I love myself and enjoy spending time with me, but...And by adult companionship, I don't mean sex, for any of you with your thinking skewed in that direction. Just some conversation that is not repetitive. Not too much to ask for, is it?

Ok, gotta get cranking - I have given myself until 12:30 to write at least two new FB Friend letters.

Oh, there is a new writing blog post...

The giant chick that Mom got for Christmas from Joe and Ginger!

Mom in a new red blouse from Juliet!

Dinner such as it was - salad, home made chips, and chicken wings

Procrastination

Here it is, almost noon thirty and I have not done a lick of work. Not a smidge. True, I have done my yoga, my other ablutions and read a good bit of Sherlock Holmes, but not a step towards getting anything actually accomplished. Sigh. On the docket, only two things really. I need to take a few hours working at my book about the Flying Saucer. And I need to wash the dishes. Call me strange (just call me) but I actually enjoy washing dishes by hand. If only I had a taller sink and larger drain area. Oh well, c'est fromage!