No TV in America - No Big Deal

Mitch just got a call from Susan to tell him his favorite comedian is on tonight on the late show. At 1 am. He can't watch it until 3 am until it is up on his computer. We have no TV except for Grandma's in her living room. And one in my room where Andrew and I will be sleeping by then.

I miss having a living room where my kids and me can go in anytime of night or day and watch it. Most of all, for my kids.

4 nights ago

Moring when I woke, Grandma told me she wished I had been awake during the night, she was cold and would have asked me to turn the heater on.

Over 96 in the house

The thermostat will not register over this. We are fortunate to be able to keep the front door open for air. Cannot open the kitchen door opposite or the garage door to the left. Then there would be a draft. Grandma cannot have a draft.

2nd of Andrew's Prophecies

So, our African desert tortoise has been missing for 12 weeks or so. The same one that God brought back to life after I left him in a large pan of water over one freezing night a few years back. Anyone remember me pouring lukewarm water over him for hours all day when I found him frozen? On top of the skakeboard ramp Paula made in my old backyard?

Summer before, I had fried two tortoises. Left them in a large plastic bucket of water, so cool and comfy after a long summer day I spent at work. Only I left them for 2 days, and forgot about them, the water and turtles were gone when I went to check on them in the horror of realizing what I did. The dead turtles were there, but the water was not.

The gate flies open from the wind, sometimes the gardeners forget to close it. I tell Andrew that the turtle must have left by the gate. Funny, when we first moved here, I was always bringing that thing back before he hit the gutter at the end of the driveway. Probably the last time I laughed, remembering. I said, "Even the turtle wants to get away."

LLoongg story short! Yesterday, on the way to school at 7:55 am Andrew says "I think the turtle dug a hole and went next door. He's said that before. We had been talking on the way to school how we missed him, and how he has been gone for so long. There is cement all around the fencing in the backyard. So I just agreed.

This morning, Mitch is answering the call from the neighbor, hitting on his window. He calls Mitch to his driveway and asks if that turtle is ours.

Wow.

2/2 Andrew's prophesies come true

Yes, w/in 5 days of each other. Sunday, just me and him on the drive to church, he says from back in his carseat: "I think Paula and Eric will come to church today." I've seen them once in the past year there, of course, last summer I went not at all, then they stopped coming when I started back up. "Now, " I say, "Last night was Eric's birthday party". Explaining that it was least of any morning we would see those two at church. He said twice more on the way that maybe they would come this moring too.

I was lazy, excuses, excuses, got off late the night before, etc. So basically Andrew and I were driving there to return and get more books from the library. So, sitting there in the foyer, (late as can be), we see doors swing open, see people filing out. By now I am usually at the library door, but I sit to yack w/a 95 year old lady. Wow! Out of those doors come Paula and Eric. What a feeling it was to see family at URC besides us.

she was nice she just wouldn't stop complaining about stuff
macaroni and cheese i made her the other day wasn't good enough, and she never saw anything like it (not even in poland or ukraine *gasp*)
and she also talked about this kielbasa that i gave her with it
and she said it wasn't fresh
even though it was just out of the new package
and then she saw some in the trash later
and assumed that the one in the trash was bad, and that i had taken it out of the trash and cut off a piece for her.
that and then her check that's worth like four dollars.
and she kept saying how she wanted to give it to the watering guy, but uncle mark wouldn't let her.

Don't call me - I'll call you.

Two doors closed, between garage, living room, and back garage door. Out in the backyard. I talked w/Susan, and Kathy. Privately, I thought, NOT!. Walking in the "house", which is combo couch, dining table, stove top, kitchen sink, a one room ordeal, is not even private outside of two doors and a garage. Grandma said she heard me talking and " what did I say?". I gave her a bath today.

There is more...

Forgot, this morning, while getting a teacup out of the cupboard, a stupid killeeshik fell out of the cupboard onto the counter, and I winced, sure enough Grandma came running out of her room about all the racket. In the mornings I know how to open each doorknob with the precision of a thief not to make a single sound, although that is not possible, and she hears even the slightest click and there is the bump of the other two closed bedroom doors from the wind pressure from opening my door ever so slowly.

I just can't stand it when people are mean to my kids.

Tomorrow Mitch does the "sitting' here again, only he will be at the house all day. I'm a bit upset that Kathy went to Serena's w/o my permission for the weekend. I would have wanted her to give Mitch a break.

Silly

I blogged the week and then pressed "save now". But don't know how to find it. So, who cares to know the horrifics of the week past and what Grandma eats and how and when she goes to the bathroom? Goes to show I should write and post everyday if I'm gonna do this thing.

Poor Mitch. Today he came home at 7 pm w/Andrew (well before dark) and the greeting he gets when he comes in the door is Grandma yelling at him because he did not call her a second time. He called to let her know that he will be home before dark.

Kind Mary takes care of Andrew and picks Mitch up from school on Friday's now. I told them they ought to go to McD's and the movies after. I took Mitch to school, took Andrew to Mary's and went to work. Mitch called me @ work to see if a 4 pm movie would be too late to come home and take care of Grandma. He even offered to call and let her know he would be home before dark. He did that and still gets the welcome he got. No one looks forward to coming home here. Mitch is so kind to Grandma, he made her dinner, and did her bidding, she calls upon him every ten minutes sometimes, yelling from the couch, just to say something like "oh, the killeeshek was good".

Mitch wants to move out when he turns 18 or soon as possible. Taking care of Grandma and Andrew... I will miss him so much.

Today is Still Not Over

About 9 pm Grandma is sleeping on the couch. Gently ask her is she wants to go to bed. "NO, why should I, too many people walking, closing doors, going back and forth." "I will go to bed when everyone else does!"

I ask if she drank enough water today, don't want her de-hydrated in the heat. I will have to monitor that from this day on, of course.

Have to watch her until she goes to sleep, Andrew will not fall asleep until I lay in bed w/him. Mitch is on his computer. He is such a help.

Now, Grandma is FINALLY GOING DOWN THE HALL!!!, She goes to the bathroom, stops in the hall and is stressing about tomorrow, "Yes, I am going to work, yes, Mitch and Andrew are going to school" "When! When! When!" she is upset. I tell her the usual times, that it is okay, she can go to bed now. How sad.

Another Day

Grandma is fine. She had the tray this morning. The tray is the: instant coffee and dry-coffee mate containers, sugar cubes (6) or so, 3/4 cup of whole milk, boiled water that has whistled in the tea kettle put into a specific coffee cup, a teaspoon, and a piece of lemon cake, and napkins. I arrange this and bring it to the couch where she sits when she is not in bed. I make sure she takes her morning medicine.

Then I turn the TV on and find something she likes. It is only about 2 channels she watches. Weekends are a bit more difficult, and this is the weekend. I make my tea and go outside to drink it and Grandma is yelling, angry yelling, over and over,l I run in fast, she wants the dining room light turned off. How the heck it got on I do not know. I turn it off and ask her if she is okay. She is not okay, and wants to yell more about the light.

For late lunch/dinner she had Whopper w/cheese, fries, onion rings. I promise not to toss the leftovers and add them to the pile in the fridge.

92 degrees in Pomona today! The weather is good for Grandma. The cold bothers her. We had the front door open today off and on. About 7:30 pm I went to the store to buy fresh milk and replace the two boxes of sugar-free lemoncake I bought by accident the other day with non sugar-free. The sun was going down and getting to the 70's and the sunset was so pretty, I thought how nice the house would be with a breeze now between the front and back door.

Mitch helped me carry the stuff in right away. He shut the front door before I could even open the back door for air. Grandma had wanted the front door shut some time ago.

Yesterday, Grandma was hollering from the couch, Hey!, Hey!, something, something, I ran in the liv. rm. she is angry because of the violence on the TV. Ohmy! I thought, did Bonanza or MASH start right after 3 episodes of Golden Girls?! What could she possibly be watching? She is mad, says there are only men fighting on TV and no women in the show whatsoever. I take the remote to find something else, and to see what violent show upset her so much, it was Happy Days, LOL.

It's 9:05, grandma is napping sitting up in the dark liv. rm. but she does not want to go to bed. We try to be quiet and pay attention at the same time. The not so "quiet ghetto" is having a huge party down the street right now.