Baltergeist

Competent, compassionate hospital staff. Getting Mom accepted into our city's best hospice care facility. Knowing all of us kids agree this is the right thing for Mom, and no misplaced desires to sustain her life with medical tortures when she is clearly way ready to let go and cross over. Good care that ensures she'll be kept comfortable and free of pain. #3GoodThings

Pulled all of Mom's long-unused tech stuff from under the stairs so I can start the long process of evaluations and purges. If at all possible, will try to salve the 2008 laptop to use as a Linux guinea pig/learning tool. As (hahahahaaa!) time permits, of course. 🤪 Slept nearly ten hours last night. Feel like I could sleep ten more. Lap time with Bella and light jazz. #3GoodThings

Driving truck across town to Mom's was an absolute delight. Brakes are tight, suspension is smooth, and no more mystery clicking sound when braking. Great job by the mechanics! Need to write them a sterling review. A day free from drama. I can never have too many of these. The deep restoration of Reiki. #3GoodThings

Grocery run completed, trash out, hair washed, etc. And still time for lap cuddling and nap with Bella Boo. 😻 Hubby found a copy of Abbott and Costello Go to Mars. (spoiler: They don't. They go to Venus.) Watching the silly thing now. These old flicks kept so many Vaudeville routines alive, long after the halls had closed. I have a soft spot for Vaudeville. It launched a lot of film talent. Pockets of it are still thriving, here and there. #3GoodThings

A long nap when I'm knackered. Kitty's long nap in my lap because she's happy I'm home and not running around doing things. A fresh, sweet, juicy orange. #3GoodThings

My amazing sister. The heart of me that is my husband. Technology, when it behaves and makes life better. #3GoodThings

Mom's new doctor wrote in the patient notes from her visit Wed. that she has excellent caretakers (me and Sis). Validation! We both needed that. Finally have a diagnosis of type/stage of her dementia, how it's likely to progress, how to plan for her care, etc. The visit triggered Mom's worst behaviors yesterday & today, but Sis and I have our heads together on strategy. So tired, yet we hold 💪. New Diary of a CEO has great interview, philanthropist Jeremy Grantham, recommended. #3GoodThings

@piku@blahaj.zone @skinnylatte@hachyderm.io No idea what the thinking is in Thailand, but in some cultures, such as northern India and Nepal, polyandry is a means to keep property intact within a family. No breaking up farms and assets to divide them between multiple descendants, thus avoiding shrinking resources from one generation to the next. Lineage is matrilineal. I hear the patriarchy gasp while clutching its man-pearls. 😆

Hubby's infinite patience and support, very good things indeed! Memories we share of our past struggles, which give us hope that present challenges will also pass and leave us standing. Our wonderful mstdn.social admin @stux@mstdn.social who sustains this fediverse instance, which is an absolute lifeline for me these days. #3GoodThings

@PrinceOfDenmark@mas.to Wonderful that MIL's strokes are not severe,and that further occurrences may be preventable. Whew! 🫶

@PrinceOfDenmark@mas.to So sorry about your MIL. Wishing her a speedy recovery and safe journey to your travelers. Keep us apprised? 🫶

Gassed up the truck, dropped off three bags of clutter at the thrift store, and caught Brother up on Mom's doctor visit and related antics. Made a fresh jar of tea, started laundry, tidied my table workspace, and am soaking pinto beans to make ham and beans tomorrow. Pulled the recipe card for cornbread to go with. This is more of a to-do list, but the business of maintaining domestic order, along with rest time chilling with Hubby and Bella, restores my energy. Very grounding. #3GoodThings

@PrinceOfDenmark@mas.to Mixed media IS fun! All success to your lady!

Finally made the call to the 'good' garage to get an appointment for tomorrow to get the truck brakes checked again. I succeeded in getting a couple of audio recordings of the noise the other mechanics couldn't hear, so maybe that will help. Crossing fingers... Cleared away the last of the first tall stack of old VHS tapes and storage drawers to make room for more useful shelving, finding which is the next to-do step. Got a couple of overdue easy home fixes done. Satisfactory! #3GoodThings

A quiet day with my little family. Bella hopped up in my lap unprompted to join me in an afternoon nap. Binge watching Julian Fellowes' new series, Belgravia. Oy, the drama! Yum yum! Parmesan cauliflower soup. Also yum yum, but a different yum. 😃 #3GoodThings

A quiet day with Mom, no drama. She liked the key lime pie I took her. Tea! #3GoodThings

Watching a cool video on new discoveries about Stonehenge, its design, construction materials, acoustic properties, and consequent new mysteries of its existence. A calm, quiet day of mostly rest. Started watching Resident Alien again from the first season, now that season four dropped. Snarky fun. #3GoodThings

@stux@mstdn.social My playlist stands ready. It is not funereal, but light and joyous. I shall dance on that day, old knees creaking in protest. It will be glorious.

@paninid@mastodon.world I feel seen.🫶

Finally had time and energy to make chocolate chip cookies for Hubby. Yes, and me, too. Lol! Didn't have to leave the house today. Bliss! Home with my family, my favorite place in the world. I just discovered that IMDB has an actor's entry for 'Skeleton', which bemuses me. Appropriate since Halloween nears. Skeleton has screen credits in Zardoz, House on Haunted Hill, Home Alone Two, The Neverending Story, and more: Link to Skeleton's IMDB film credits: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2213817/?ref_=tt_cst_i_17 #3GoodThings

Many here were kind enough to follow my posts about Mom. She passed on Sept. 5, shortly after admission to the best hospice in our city. Mom was ready, beyond ready, to go. Her last days were comfortable, pain-free, and peaceful. In spring we'll scatter our parents' ashes, together, over fields of beautiful wildflowers, back to the earth and the great cycle of days to which we all belong. Closing out a life takes a shocking amount of time & energy, but we're in a good headspace. #3GoodThings

The emergency rental guy picked up Mom's 2 room units, the yard guy came and did all the yard maintenance things, the bug guy came and spread death to cockroaches inside and outside her house, and Sis made a short visit, too. Tomorrow should, Lord willing, be calmer, quieter, and less disruptive. Finished binge-watching The Other Bennett Sister on Britbox. Nicely done. Ice cubes. I am leaning into ice cubes big time this summer, both regular and long skinny for water bottles. #3GoodThings

Got 6 bags of 'contraband' ready to go for Sis from Mom's fridge and freezer, if she wants them. A few bags' worth remain, but I ran out of bags. Mom liked the special spicy mustard dip I made for her gluten-free pretzels. She ate all of them. Last night she finished every bit of the special salsa I made her. That's 3 for 3 wins of the special diet food I made her. Yay! In 5 days I get the dental implant base & crown replacement. Ah! Soup, soup, and more soup in 3...2... #3GoodThings

Picked up Mom's med refills and got her pills d9ne for the week. A quiet day today together. Hubby found a Japanese YouTube channel, DIY with Masa the Cat. It's exactly the low key fare I need right now, watching the guy customize his travel van under supervision of his kitty. It must be wonderful to know how to build usefu things. Sis took my advice to do some self care this afternoon, while I mom-sat. I managed to squeeze in some exercises/resistance band, at long last. #3GoodThings

Clouds and rain made cooler temperatures while getting Hubby to/from his pain doctor. Going home, we swung by the store to return the unneeded 4-prong plug for the new stove, a $50 refund. One less thing I'll have to do later, woohoo! The pharmacy notified us that his med refill was ready right after that, so we picked it up, along with eggs and cat litter. Yet another task I don't have to do later. Cool Why Files interview on consciousness w/ physicist Thomas Campbell. #3GoodThings

An exceptionally pleasant Mom day, with AC, lucidity, and good temper. Took Mom some 'safe' food, canned and frozen veggies and fruit options while we wait for the CDC to figure out the culprit in this summer's cyclospora outbreak. She was very pleased with the sherbet, too. A&E's Nero Wolfe series, a real treasure. If you've never tried cleaning your toilet with a citric acid soak, try it. Won't damage plumbing fixtures like bleach will. I had to see it to believe. Amazing! #3GoodThings

A good Mom day, fairly drama-free, but the Pity Possum Show was in full roar. 😆 I managed two hours' work on the low FODMAP reference spreadsheet, veggies and oils. Hope to get another couple of hours in tomorrow. Completed and got Mom to sign her mail-in ballot application. Will mail it in on Monday, along with the three packages of rescued family photos to my various cousins, to whom they may be of interest. Bonus: Baked potato soup with a dollop of green onion dip. Mmm! #3GoodThings

Sitting quietly with a cup of tea, focused on nothing but the soothing patter of rain, my sweetheart on my left with his nose in his new book, kitty dozing in her closet nest on my right, wanting for nothing more. This is a perfect moment. ❤️ Cleared 8 square feet of piles of photos and family documents. Some go in the big tub to review later, some to shredding or trash. These are the last we'll salvage from Mom's. An era passes with her. New season of Great British Baking Show! 😃 #3GoodThings

Today I'm thankful for: Tiger Balm Heating Pads Ibuprofen Note to self: You only feel like a sprightly 40-year-old, but you should respect the many years in the rearview separating you from that younger self. There's no shame in slowing down a bit. Your knees will thank you for it! 😆 #3GoodThings

Mom's OTC UTI test strip appears to be negative. Telemed visit secured for tomorrow afternoon for back/kidney pain she's reported. Printed out FODMAP diet recs for Mom's IBS and got a copy to Sis. Have a grocery order in for pick up tomorrow with as many good items as I could scope out that will be nutritious, tasty, appealing, and not trigger disaster. (It's like the olden days of Weight Watchers, parsing out 'yes this', 'no that', how much is too much, etc.) #3GoodThings

Helluva day. Don't want to go into it, but here's three good things: Having a washer and dryer in the garage so on arriving home, we can peel soiled clothes & chuck them immediately into the washer. That lovely clean feeling after a shower, when you know you can't get sit in a clean chair or slip into a clean bed until you've had that shower. A simple bowl of cereal and milk when you finally have time to eat after a very long, long time since brekky. Bonus: My wee sweet family. #3GoodThings

Back from the myriad priority interruptions: Getting clean, clean, clean after days of clearing stanky rooms, basement, cupboards, closets, and other storage areas that marinated in years of neglect. A day off from such labors, so I can do other stuff. Journaling, which, when I can squeeze it into a day, helps me keep my memories and experiences sorted out and manageable. Bonus: Despite months of stress and junk food, biomarkers are all healthy. No idea how this happened! 🤔 #3GoodThings

Had one of those restless nights followed by a weighty dream. Straightforward encouragement to integrate parts of my psyche/new skills/experiences that currently feel awkward but will blossom on further development. I suspect it's a gentle prodding of buttocks, because I tend to prefer the path of least resistance and greatest comfort. Convinced Hubby it's OK to get clean without bothering to shave. Liberating, in fact. We're clean! Not stinky! Cleeeeean! 😃 #3GoodThings

@mertn@theblower.au Oh, wow! That's an impressive feat! Well done and doing, you! 🌞

Cool conversation with the Pizza Hut lady, who explained to me how they're able to have our pizza ready 10 minutes after we ordered it. I love it when my curiosity is satisfied, as well as having pleasant random encounters with people, brief moments that affirm our common humanity. Also, the pizza is really tasty! I finally got to catch up on my sleep this morning. Bella got over being mad at me for being so busy all week, and we had cozy, sweet lap time together. Awww! 😻 #3GoodThings

Mechanic validated the barely audible, intermittent truck sound, reproduce it without having to drive it around, and thinks it's something to do with the suspension and a wheel/wheel housing. They need another day to suss out the precise source. He was tickled when I said I figured this job needed a mystical master mechanic, because it required good intuitive sense to figure it out. Laundered blankets; sheets next. YT Edwardian Stories for Sleep. Knocked me right out for a nap. 😴 #3GoodThings

Mechanic sussed truck's mystery noise issue. Recommended a fix for it, plus for problem with the parking brake. He identified an issue with the brake system that isn't critical yet, but needs attention eventually. Having him fix everything, because it will only cost more later (and likely soon). A relief to get all this done. $Oven +$Truck = gratitude for Social Security, which helps bigly. 🌞 Hubby excited about colorized Basil Rathbone "Hound of the Baskervilles" flick on YT. 😃 #3GoodThings

Truck is fixed! Hubby drove her home, so I'm looking forward to driving her myself and experiencing the driving improvement from repairs. Smooth. Click-free. 🌞 Finally got around go replacing a cracked power strip, safety hazard, and am happy feeling more secure despite the layer of dust from rooting stuff around. Ahchoo! More small advances in the domestic Swedish Death Cleaning project. Every square inch reclaimed is a square inch of breath and freedom. #3GoodThings

Did good research to help make an important decision for long-term benefit. Well, first decision. A follow-up decision is waiting for me a few weeks up the road, but it's all good. Hubby's pain doctor appointment went well and med refills are secured, always a great relief for him to have these in hand. Plumber can come late this week or early next to take care of several small but important needs. #3GoodThings

Ordered some pens for art/doodling. I have pens aplenty, but these are special. And...I buy pens when I go through life stressors because they make me happy. And art therapy keeps me grounded. I probably need to buy a pen box, too. 🤔 Hubby gets equal spending, and I like the little Le Chat Noir figurine he's ordered. Classy! Finished the Poirot novel I was reading and started The Butlerian Jihad, which seems appropriate for the AI angst of these times. #3GoodThings

Persuaded Sis to make a phone call and resolve concerns by talking to the company rep, rather than reacting to panicked assumptions based on confusion and lack of clarity. When in doubt, question, verify, and validate. It will spare you so much hair-pulling and jumping about! Ate a delicious fresh orange. Fun interview dropped on YT's The Why Files Basement with archaeologist Ed Barhnart, who discovered the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. #3GoodThings

Called mechanic this a.m. to say we can't pick up truck before tomorrow, so no rush to finish today. They told me yesterday they'd been slammed, so he really appreciated some breathing room today. Schadenfreude over Elon's tanking stocks. I'm mortal, aiming for mostly harmless, not perfect. Agape will have to wait; today is the childish joy of neener-neener where merited. Robert Pape on Diary of a CEO dropped today. Insightful. Need to stock up on more rice & beans, etc. 🤔😬 #3GoodThings

After too long a hiatus, finally got some PT into my day. Revealing. I knew I was retaining stress, so stretching and working the resistance band felt SO good. I feel better than I have in weeks, releasing all that stagnant energy. A day of steady rainfall, lovely. Alas, Mom made a face at the chocolate peanut butter dip with wafer cookies that I brought her today for a treat. Tragically, I may have to bring them home for me and Hubby to eat. Oh, the sacrifices one makes! 😆 #3GoodThings

My months' desired brisket is, at long last, slow-cooking in the oven. Woohoo! The aroma is driving us nuts. 😃 Scrubbed avocados and a tomato thoroughly, then we made guacamole while waiting on the brisket. Tomorrow's agenda: Use-Up-The-Uneaten-Tomatoes Soup. A lovely day of contentment with my little family, watching old '60s BBC video Sherlock Holmes series with Peter Cushing and Nigel Stock. "He did it! She did it! They did it!" My mouth is full of anticipation drool. 😋 #3GoodThings

Researched a highly recommended probiotic for Mom. Messaged her doctor to see if ok to give to her, dosing regimen ok. Hope to hear back tomorrow. Completed a revised, better organized inventory list of provisions and completed audit to correct a few errors. Three large bags of clutter out the door, woohoo! The room I'm currently working is starting to breathe just that tiny bit better. Ahh! #3GoodThings

Purged lots of kitchen cupboard stuff we don't need, so we have better storage arrangements for the things we do need. I hope I can remember the new places for stuff when I need it. Made some King Ranch Chicken with pasta since we're out of tortillas. Mighty tasty. Mom will get some tomorrow, along with some orange cake with chocolate icing. Busy days behind, busy days ahead. It's good to have purpose, but it sure makes time go faster! #3GoodThings

Swamped with ever-increasing to-do list, but clawing my way through. Did not faint from heat and dehydration at the end of my Mom-day yesterday. Talked Sis down from giving up on Mom's low FODMAP diet before we're even off the ground. Made 3 low FODMAP recipes for Mom today, plus guacamole for Hubby and me. Provisioning Mom with diet food & drinks progresses, along with purge of disallowed consumables. Bills are paid. The new Tick series on Netflix IS my jam! SPOOOOOON! #3GoodThings

Great family support during crises. Great teamwork with Sis, who is a treasure. A chance to get clean, do laundry, and clean Bella's litter box before the next round of life demands. Bonus: Finally watched Electric Land on Netflix, a cute, pleasant, much needed diversion. #3GoodThings

Mom's telemed call went SO well! I was a mite stressed about it, but 1. the doctor was awesome, 2. Mom appreciated not leaving the house, and 3.the resolution is a relief. Muscle soreness, not kidney infection/UTI. Whew! He approved Mom for FODMAP diet for her IBS. Oddly enough, the biggest impediment may be Sis, who wants to serve easy, no effort, take-out meals; yet complains bitterly about cleaning up the messy consequences of Mom's angry bowels. Ha! No change, no gain, Sis. 🤨 #3GoodThings

Focused on real world stuff the last few days, good results. But I missed this! We decided it made more sense to replace our failing oven than pay for repairs. 4th of July sales--serendipity! Finally got my kitchen floor and counters cleaned, in prep for new oven. Delivery tomorrow! Before the delivery/installation guys suffer 4th of July hangovers! Whew. 😆 Wasn't on the agenda, but our oven gets heavy use. It's essential. May as well buy now, because inflation ⬆️ zoom zoom. #3GoodThings