Arguments

I forgot to mention on Halloween, I was supposed to keep Pearl in the bedroom, while Carol gave out candy to the kids.  I had trouble operating the TV and had to ask for help several times.  Carol got frustrated because the doorbell would ring and she had to keep going back and forth between me and the kids. She finally realized she was not going to be able to pass out the candy and help me at the same time. She gave up passing out the candy and had me do it instead. She was disappointed because it’s something she enjoys doing and was unhappy that she couldn’t have one night of uninterrupted time to participate in Halloween.

Recently, we were going to see a performance in Kirkland.  It was dark and rainy of course. Carol had come from work in rush hour traffic already and she found the driving to be difficult.  I said we could go home, but we continued.  She said she didn’t like being the driver all the time.  I said I wished I could do it.  My sense of direction isn’t good.  I can’t see the street signs well.  I can’t read maps. I didn’t get directions. Carol ending up feeling like the chauffer.  I responded to her expressions of frustration by saying, “I know” repeatedly.  She told me that wasn’t very helpful.

We had had dinner together before the show.  Carol had been talking about her work.  I thought I had been being supportive.  She said she didn’t feel like I was actually interacting.  I argued back a little, saying I thought I was being present.  She said, “When do I get to say how I feel about my experience and have you accept it?”  I told her I was sad there has been a loss in my listening ability, because that used to be a strength I prided myself on.

The present moment is full.

Carol and Lena Away

Carol and Lena are leaving early in the morning for a week in Orlando.  Carol will be going to a conference.  Lena gets to soak up Disneyworld on her own.  Nice she is old enough to do that since Carol is not a big fan.  I have a mixture of nervousness and enthusiasm about being alone with Pearl for a week.  The positive feelings are supported by the fact I have standing dates with Dick and Liz, dates to see Rickie Lee Jones and Curtis Salgado with Richard, and reminders from Louise and Richard I can call for help.

Carol noticed Pearl’s tail knocking over the remote.  That might explain the damage.

The present moment is relaxed.

Ice Cream Worked

Adding ice cream to my smoothies brought my weight back up.  It took three weeks, so there was a point where I thought I should reduce the number of times I go to the gym.  Carol convinced me not to do that.  She was right.

I spilled an infinitesimal amount of ginger ale across the table, so it touched the computer, fortunately, without doing harm.  I moved the water bottle to the coffee table.  I have to take in a massive amount of fluids because one of my supplements can harm my kidneys.

I found slicing into the chicken breasts for the stuffed recipe we liked challenging, so Carol suggested layering tenders.  Lena finally tasted it since she added chicken back into her diet and enjoyed it a lot.

The universal remote stopped working.  Carol thinks I may have dropped it and loosened the batteries.  That makes more work for her to reprogam it.  I apologized.  Meanwhile I can turn on the TV the old fashioned way.

The present moment is colorful.

More Spills

   Even though I stored my smoothies in travel coffee cups, I have spilled them twice.  So I changed to a water bottle with a built in straw.
   I spilled some ginger ale from the far side of the table and still got a bit on the computer.  That made me nervous.  Fortunately, there was no damage.  I moved the bottles to a coffee table.
    I am back up one of the pounds I had lost the week before.  Using ice cream helps.
    I realized I could watch old movies on demand.  I started with Blues Brothers, which I had somehow missed.  Very entertaining.
    The present moment is cool.

This and That

    As Dick and I were coming from the gym, I said I was down two pounds, which isn’t good.  He said he was down two pounds, too, which IS good.  Perspective is everything.  I said I wasn’t sure how to get mine back up, since I feel like I eat constantly, as it is.  It dawns on me I could add ice cream to my smoothies.
    Carol helped me figure out how to request a ride on the web site.
    I had stored a glass of smoothie in the refrigerator.  I spilled it, when I was getting it out, which made a mess.  I told Carol I thought I should stop making them and use Ensure instead.  She thought I was overreacting, and could solve the problem by putting a lid on it.  I wound up agreeing.
    Carol gets to hear, “You were right.”  She managed to program the universal remote so I can play our dvds on the nice relatively big TV.  It is easy to get discs in and out.  I am unafraid of using water bottles in that chair.
    The present moment is cloudy.

Lunches

1. My care committee did some brainstorming about my transportation issues.  They mentioned I could change my lunch dates with Mary to dinner dates.  That didn’t work out, because we have conflicting commitments.  Mary said she was willing to pick me up and take me some place at lunch time.  We just went to Burgermaster.    The web site Alice set up allows me to request rides.  Alice sent around a letter letting people know about my general need.  I haven’t tried out the system yet, but will soon.     Carol said my blog missed the fact she was going to try to figure out whether she could make the universal remote work with our dvd player.  I think she was unsuccessful, this week. The present moment is mimosa blossom sweet.

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Spills

    Last night I spilled a bottle of zoloft with 14 pills in it.  Fortunately I got them up off the floor, so Pearl the dog isn’t having any unexpected mood changes.  I feel apologetic about having to ask Carol to add counting out my pills to her tasks.  She is a good sport about it.

    Since I’m not able to get to the bus, I am home a lot more than I had been.  Carol had picked up a dvd series of Helen Miren at the BBC.  They go back to 1974 and include some amazing range.  

    Carol thought it would work for me to watch them on our computer.  I had spilled some water on the machine, fortunately without doing any damage.  She suggested I keep the bottle on the other side of the table.  I have an irrational fear I am going to forget and bring the bottles to the computer side.  More rational is that I might hurt the drive getting disks in and out.

    We have a dvd player someone gave us along with our TV.  I hired our friend Michelle to hook it up, since neither Carol nor I knew how to do it.  Michelle had trouble getting the dvd remote to work.  Carol looked at the instructions and they indicated we should be able to use the TV remote to operate the dvd, but it didn’t work.  She also bought a universal remote, and programmed it, but it won’t make the dvd work either.  Carol has an individual dvd player that should work once she finds the cord.  She has put a lot of effort into this problem.  Meanwhile, I am watching Law and Order on Netflix.

    Carol also turned me on to The Hour, a TV program about the beginning of the BBC.  It is great.  I’m caught up on it.

    The present moment is cloudy.