Monday, November 28, 2016

Moving out!

Discharge papers done. Insulin pump cannula stuck in belly (you really can find anything out on google!). Miss Rose (mom's new walker) filled with assorted things.The last of Mom's  bouquet in hand. We were ready to roll! 
Mom's first outing (barring the helicopter ride to Anchorage on November 5). The ride was bumpy, but fun and a bit nerve wracking. 
 This airline deserves high praise. Granted, they had an obscure "Happy New Year" greeting on Thanksgiving, but they really come thru when needed. I do wish I had found out earlier that persons with cancer could fly free, but maybe others will see this and use that option. The personnel took excellent care of mom from the time we got her out of the bus and thru the doors at the airport to the time they got her curbside in Kenai. Ravn Alaska is truly a great way to travel in Alaska!
 This is the plane we flew to Kenai on. Fast and efficient. The molasses cookies they handed out at the end were VERY good.
 Waiting for take off. We even got to sit under the deicing machine. I've never experienced that before!
 I didn't take many more pictures. It was not one of the most relaxing plane rides I have been on. I was incredibly thankful it was fast! I did smile thru my tears when I realised we were almost home.

Mike met us in Kenai and loaded our stuff in his rig and mom in ours. We got to the Parsonage where there were welcoming flowers on the table in the living room. The day after Thanksgiving is the annual 'Santa Comes to Kenai' parade, which goes right past the church. This has been going on since I was a kid. It has changed a great deal, though! Mike gallantly braved the crowds and took a back way to a local spot to grab us dinner. I'd eaten there with Randall (Toyman), but hadn't had Katina's pizza. YUMMY.
It was a long Friday and it was good to get back to Kenai. Hospitals are great places, but long term stays can be daunting. In spite of the wonderful personnel who work in every section.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Short trip to the Kenai-November 2016

 Starting with Figaro. He's such a sweet kitty cat!
 Mittens misses Mum (alliteration!). She slept with me two of the nights I was home. I do like a catly sprawl around my knees.
 Went to visit Dad, but it was really rather chilly out. No, it was COLD! This is at the Scout Park.
 Snow on the mountain! Finally. And a ring of clouds.
 The sun sank into the inlet and left us with a promise for a lovely new day to travel to Anchorage.
 Not really blue skies and cold temps. I was thankful the snow was dry. And that I only needed to drive to Kenai!
 Red skies are a warning. Pink skies are candy! They also warn---it was snowy on the way up to the big city.
 It also appears the lake was strong enough for a black lab! Max footprints are in the snow on top of the ice.
 Very thankful I was a passenger. Mom said I wasn't used to snow and it couldn't have been very bad. It wasn't, Except for those people who didn't use headlights because it was 'daylight' and the big trucks that blew white out flurries in the direction of oncoming traffic.

Mom got flowers from Roy Wells' office! I wasn't sure there was a spot for them, but the nurse carved one out from all the medical debris in the window. It sure makes the room pretty in both looks and scent! 

Tuesday, November 08, 2016

Go North!

Jon took me to Pasco, leaving the unseasonably warm sunshine and blooming nasturtiums for frost and potential snow. 
 Not as much snow as I had hoped for, but it was pretty chilly in Anchorage!!!!!
 TSA in Pasco didn't like the container of powdered meds I had carefully packed so none of it would spill.I was a tad annoyed.
 I was picked up in ANC and stayed with Bob and Janet. Bob's favorite phrase was especially apt during this tangible caring part of my trip. "God loves you and so do I."
 Out North, the lake had ice on it! Janet (my sister) is keeping an eye on the inside critter (Obi is at her house). The neighbors across are keeping an eye on the outside.
 Mom got sent by chopper to ANC, so Mike (bless his heart!) took me BACK to Anchorage. Before leaving Kenai, God sent another one of His workers who gave me some cash. I was humbled and incredibly thankful.  It was  super pretty drive and a bit frosty outside. I completely enjoyed seeing some snow on the mountains.
 In Anchorage, I've been staying with more Hands and Feet of Jesus. Scott and Cherie. Being reminded, once again, that Cherie is actually a relation. Her Mom's Aunt Lorena is Steve's Aunt Lorena. Small world it is in and out of Weston/Athena.
 Figaro---I do appreciate a lovely cat!
 Alaskans work hard to make sure the citizens of the state have the chance to vote. I so appreciated mom getting this opportunity from her bed in the hospital!
 The sun dropped  into the horizon, lighting up mum and the sky (Mum was too hard to photograph with the sun in her eyes!).

 At 5 pm, we had a bit of a celebration. I purchased an apple muffin and improvised a candle from a twist of paper and colored the 'tip' red with a marker. Janet was born, mum said, at 5 pm on November 8, 49 years ago. Happy Birthday, Sis!!!! I can't imagine this crazy life without you----

Tuesday, November 01, 2016

Of Mice and Moses

Photos and story may be disturbing. 
 This is not the mouse we were looking for. 
I was in the kitchen and had heard noises. I dismissed them, until I opened up the drawer I keep kitchen towels in. I screeched in anger. On top of the CLEAN linen was a mostly chewed Hershey's dark chocolate kiss. (I thought about the shape and color and wrapper and determined this is what is probably had been originally) I had no idea how it got in my linen drawer, except by mouse express. I pulled open cupboards and drawers and dropped a newly awakened cat in the middle of my kitchen floor. He was mildly intrigued. 
 Moses was pretty sure the mouse was behind the cabinet wall. Which made perfect sense when I took drawers out and discovered the wall behind the cabinet was original.
 The 'old' gucky looking wood is actually wallpaper. The cabinets were put in over the old paper. No wonder it gets so cold in the cupboards! We are fairly sure the mouses traveled along the edges of the cupboards to reach other territories. Climbing on items within to get to the top. Shudder! 
Moses became uninterested in the search and opted for dry kibble, for the moment. The enticing scents and noises kept him coming back to the wide open cabinetry. 

 This cupboard Moses would not leave alone. He knocked things over and was making a bit of a mess. It was a couple of hours later and I asked Steve to help clean it out. When to his surprise, he found a mice-ling cowering under some plastic. They were both startled, but Steve prevailed.
 He took the tender quivering morsel to Moses, who did whatever it is cats do. I was congratulating Steve on his cat worthy abilities, when we heard a trap go off.
 Once again, Steve saved my kitchen from the tiny paws and unmentionable other things one feels safe in describing as mouse residue. Jon, the sneaky jokester, opted to put this lifelike-when-seen-at-a-glance-but-not-when-photographed mouse near the trap. I think the caught mouse was more interested in the PB Jon put on the trap than the wannabe mouse friend.
It wasn't pretty, but it appears to be over. Probably. (and as I copied in the last line...another trap went off. That's three!)
“You hadda, George. I swear you hadda. Come on with me.”   J. Steinbeck