Archive for September, 2010

Today’s Business: 2010-09-30

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Today’s Activities

  • Shower.  DONE.
  • Cat duty.  DONE.
  • Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.  All have been returned except one, and Mom says that this one is lost.  I’ll follow up with the library to see how they wish to handle this.
  • Watch all pending episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News.   DONE.

Log

08:55 AM: I’m up.    

11:00 AM: Worked in the downstairs office this morning, tossing old files and making room for new ones.  I’ve also been keeping an eye on the basement.  So far, it’s staying dry.  But as much rain as has fallen so far today, it may not for long.  Hopefully it will though because I’d hate to have our new water heater, which is barely a week old, be submerged in caustic water. 

01:00 PM: Sister Mary Ann had planned on coming up today to visit Mom.  But the rain is falling hard near her house and she doesn’t want to risk the relatively long drive to here in all that stormy wetness.  So we’ll probably go tomorrow if things clear up. 

02:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR. 

05:00 PM: I’ve watched all remaining episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News    on the DVR.  Now, I have to work on the   Meet The Press   and   Face The Nation   ones.

06:30 PM: Continued organizing in the downstairs office, and looking for the 2004 water heater receipt.  No luck so far.  But there are several more bags and drawers around here to root through yet.  So hopefully, it will turn up in one of them. 

07:00 PM: Mom called to “check in” as she put it.  She sounds chipper.  She’s good. 

07:55 PM: Recorded audio journal episode   AJE-2010-09-30-19-14

10:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone.

12:00 PM: Watched some late national news and now, I’m off to bed.  Good night, and more tomorrow.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

  • Cable + Internet + phone bill.

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Today’s Diet: 2010-09-30

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

  • Herbal tea and diet pop throughout the day. 0 calories.
  • 10:00 AM: 1 banana.  125 calories.
  • 12:00 PM: 1 large bowl of pork roast and vegetables.  600 calories.
  • 02:30 PM: 2 bags of popcorn with olive oil.  800 calories.
  • 08:00 PM: 1 bowl of orange-flavored cream cheese Jello.  400 calories.
  • 09:30 PM: 1 bowl of broccoli with olive oil.  200 calories.

Total calories: 2125.

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Business: 2010-09-29

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Today’s Activities

  • Shower.  DONE.
  • Cat duty.  DONE.
  • Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.  All have been returned except one.
  • Watch all pending episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News.   IN PROGRESS.
  • Request disbursement on behalf of the   WPSBC Alumni Association   in order to fund the braille printer repairs; per the organization’s wishes.  DONE.

Log

09:05 AM: I’m up.    

11:05 AM: [Tad] called to provide me instructions on who to send the money too for the braille printer repairs that the   WPSBC Alumni Association   voted to fund at the 2010 convention.  But, as it turns out, we haven’t enough money in checking for this.  So I’m requesting a disbursement from our investments firm now. 

12:00 PM: Talked to Mom’s dentist about the partial she was having made.  I explained that she’s in a nursing facility for an indefinite period and so we don’t know when or if she’ll be able to continue this project.  So they placed her account on hold and said that we need to make no more payments on it until such time that Mom is ready to continue. 

01:25 PM: Left message with the   WPSBC Alumni Association‘s   financial advisor, requesting the disbursement.  She’s always quick to return my calls.  So I hope to hear back from her in the next day or two.   

02:00 PM: Continued rounding up Mom’s library books.  As of today, all books, including those borrowed through her friends,  have been returned to the library, except for one:  The Proposal    by Lorri Wick.  I’m continuing to look for that one. 

02:40 PM: The    WPSBC Alumni Association   financial advisor called me back.  The disbursement I’ve requested has been initiated.  Nice!

03:15 PM: Holly dropped off some blueberries.  They’re getting expensive now that they’re going out of season, so it seems.

03:55 PM: I wrote change of address letters to businesses we do business with, per the E911 project.  Yes, we’re still trying to get our address updated with all interested parties over a year later.  But, they don’t accept these requests over the phone anymore.  Grrrrrr.  Seems like we must spend too much overhead for security. I mean, I had all the information they would have cared to ask to verify my identity.  But that didn’t matter.  They still demanded letters be sent.  What a pain.  :-(

04:15 PM: Left a message with Mom’s financial planner.  He was supposed to call this week to schedule an appointment to discuss Mom’s health care and her money.  But he must have gotten busy or something, as I’ve heard nothing from him.  Hopefully, he’ll call back tomorrow. 

04:55 PM: Found a refund check Mom received last October from a department store credit card company.  Unfortunately she did not cash the check before it expired 180 days after its issuance.  So, I called this company’s customer service department and they instructed me to sent a letter and a copy of the expired check.  This effort is complicated by the fact that I’m acting as Mom’s power of attorney, and this requires that I provide them a copy of those papers as well.  More grrrrrrrr!  Well anyhow, I FAXed the letter and check, and will follow up with another call tomorrow afternoon.  Boy, this is sure a lot of effort just to get $52 back.  But I just hate that this company will get this money, which belongs to Mom, if I do not act.  So, here I am, acting, and liking it none too much.  Gripe! 

06:10 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR. 

08:00 PM: Discovered a drawer full of loose papers, bills,  and manuals in the downstairs office.  So I spent the past couple hours filing those and pitching what’s no longer needed. 

09:20 PM: Talked with sister Diane, and I told her about the letter I received today from Mom’s medical insurance company.  They’re not going to cover a run through an intense physical therapy program for Mom at Health South.  They feel she can get effective care where she is right now. 

10:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone.

10:45 PM: Well, I’m getting warmer.  I located an estimate for the replacement of both the furnace and water heater after the 2004 flood.  That company actually did the work back then.  So my case for warranty replacement of the water heater just got a little stronger.  Darn, if I could just that sales receipt (the smoking gun), I’d have a rock-solid case.  It must be nearby.     

12:20 AM: Watched the 2010-09-13 through 2010-09- 20 episodes of    NBC’s Nightly News   news show throughout the day on the DVR.

12:30 AM: To bed with me.  Good night. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

  • Gas bill ($26.57 this month).
  • Mom’s pension pay stub.
  • Misc. insurance papers for Mom. 

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Today’s Diet: 2010-09-29

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

  • Herbal tea and diet pop throughout the day. 0 calories.
  • 10:00 AM: 1 banana.  125 calories.
  • 12:00 PM: Pork roast and vegetables.   600 calories.
  • 02:45 PM: 1 bag of popcorn with Parmesan cheese, olive oil, and oregano.  400 calories.
  • 04:00 PM: 4 slices of muenster cheese.  320 calories.
  • 06:00 PM: 1 large bowl of Cheerios, blueberries, raisins, and fat-free milk.  800 calories.
  • 06:10 PM: 1 multivitamin.  0 calories. 
  • 10:00 PM: 1 banana.  125 calories.
  • 11:15 PM: 4 slices of muenster cheese.  320 calories.

Total calories: 2565.

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Business: 2010-09-28

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Today’s Activities

  • Shower.  DONE.
  • Cat duty.  DONE.
  • Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Pay all pending bills.   DONE.
  • Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Watch all pending episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News.   IN PROGRESS.

Log

08:55 AM: I’m up.    

11:00 AM: Posted the   WPSBC Alumni Association –> Joseph Sofranko Passed Away   piece.

11:35 AM: Paid all 3 pending bills as of today.

12:00 PM: Posted the   Shopping Trip: 2010-09-24   piece.

12:05 PM: Nap time.  Back later.

01:15 PM: I’m back up again. 

01:20 PM: So I was all eager to eat those marble-sized, plump, and succulent blueberries from Wal Mart that I bought last week. So finally this morning, I threw a half-cup into my cereal.  But, crunch, Crunch CRUNCH!  Yuck!  Those “blueberries” actually turned out to be concord grapes; all seeds included!  Eeeewww!  Oh well, that tasty bowl of Cheerios and berries shall remain a dream until the next store trip.  Grrrrrrr.   :-)

03:40 PM: So, how’s the new water heater working? Great!  Plus, I learned yesterday that the old water heater is still under warranty; it failed after five years and eleven months into its six-year guarantee. What a bonus!  Now, where’s that 2004 sales receipt, I wonder, while stepping through the clutter in a frantic search.   Crash, bang, boon!  Man, it’s dusty around here.

05:40 PM: Posted the   Mom’s Status: 2010-09-28   piece.

06:30 PM: Green scale in the pipes, rings in the bathtub, rust in the commode, short-lived water heater, spots on the glasses, leaky faucets, clogged pads in the humidifier, and grit in my tea cup. Hmmm.  Perhaps it’s time to buy a water softener. Just thinking…

07:45 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

10:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone, and we listened to much of the Penguins game tonight.  This was their last pre season home game.  So far, not only did they win tonight, but they’ve won all of their pre season games so far.  Yay! 

11:20 PM: Recorded audio journal episode   AJE-2010-09-28-23-05.

12:30 AM: Watched the 2010-09-02 through 2010-09-12 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   news show on the DVR.

12:50 AM: To bed, once again.  Take care.  More tomorrow.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

  • Weekly coupon mailer.
  • Discover card offer.  Not at this time, thanks.

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Mom’s Status: 2010-09-28

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

Summary

Mom continued her physical improvements.  I talked with her last night, and sister Diane visited her today.  We agree that she’s certainly more alert and that she had lots of reasons to be thrilled at her progress.  Today, she walked a few tens of feet across a room.  Yes, she had assistance.  But in my mind, this represents monumental improvement over how weak and disabled she was just three weeks ago.  Yet because, as she sees it, she’s only shown modest improvement physically over the past couple weeks, and not to the degree she wants, her sadness appears to be returning.  But some good news is that her memory still appears  good.  However, nurses are concerned that she likes to bundle up so tightly, so much of the time.  Her run of antibiotic was supposed to be done a few days ago.  But they’ve opted to keep her on a reduced dose for an as-yet-to-be-determined amount of time.  The monitoring of her condition has begun.  Again, we’ll watch for a return of her fever and other signs of a MRSA return.  Nonetheless, we hope that  if that happens, she’ll have less pain than before.  She now has her cell phone again.  So friends are welcome to call her and try to cheer her up. 

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Diet: 2010-09-28

Tuesday, September 28th, 2010

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

  • Herbal tea and diet pop throughout the day. 0 calories.
  • 10:00 AM: 1 bowl of Cocoa Wheats.  1000 calories.
  • 02:00 PM: 1 bowl of strawberries with organic sugar.  300 calories.
  • 04:30 PM: 1 bowl of pork roast and vegetables.  600 calories.
  • 07:30 PM: 2 bowls of Cheerios with skim milk and organic sugar.  1000 calories.

Total calories: 2900.

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Business: 2010-09-27

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Today’s Activities

  • Shower.  DONE.
  • Cat duty.  DONE.
  • Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Pay all pending bills. 
  • Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Watch all pending episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News.   IN PROGRESS.
  • File all office papers.  DONE.

Log

08:40 AM: I’m up.    

09:40 AM: Good morning.  I’m about to head downstairs and crock a 3-pound pork roast for supper, along with lots of carrots and onions. Sister Diane brought some fresh vegetables from her garden for a salad too. So, it should be a spectacular yet nutritious feast. I’ll let you know.

12:30 PM: [Jack] called and we talked for the past hour and fifteen minutes while I continued filing papers in the downstairs office.  I should have this job done this afternoon. 

01:00 PM: So why should I buy a high-definition TV given my low-definition vision?  Well, though practical, this question is fast becoming moot, as it’s getting hard to find standard definition TVs anymore.  So, the answer I get is: Because HD TVs are all we sell.   Okay.  That’s cool.  I’m used to paying for stuff I never use.  Sometimes though, there’s just no choice.   They should sell televisions al la carte.  :-)

03:00 PM: Finished filing all office papers, users manuals, Etc. 

05:00 PM: Watched today’s episode of   The Young and the Restless   on the DVR.

05:30 PM: Sister Diane stopped by to pick up some clean socks for Mom.  She’ll take them to her tomorrow after work.

11:00 PM: Watched tonight’s episode of the new    Hawaii Five-O   with [Emmy] over the phone.. 

12:00 AM: Watched the 2010-08-28 through 2010-09-01 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   on the DVR throughout the evening.

12:30 AM: Heading to bed.  Good night. Short and sweet. 

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

  • Invitation to join the   Funeral Advantage Program.   Not at this time, thanks.
  • Advertisement from Wolf Furniture. 
  • Misc. bills (1). 

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Today’s Diet: 2010-09-27

Monday, September 27th, 2010

I keep this food diary to stay aware of just how many calories I’m eating daily, with the hope that it decreases the likelihood that I’ll overeat.    It seems to work, so here we go with another day…

Today, I consumed the following items:

  • Herbal tea and diet pop throughout the day. 0 calories.
  • 01:00 PM: 1 bowl of Cocoa Wheats.  1000 calories.
  • 06:30 PM: Pork roast with vegetables.  600 calories.
  • 07:00 PM: 1 bowl of Cheerios with almond drink and organic sugar.  500 calories.
  • 09:00 PM: 1 bowl of grapes. 200 calories.

Total calories: 2300.

Tom Hesley

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Today’s Business: 2010-09-26

Sunday, September 26th, 2010

Today’s Activities

  • Shower.  DONE.
  • Cat duty.  DONE.
  • Vacuum upstairs.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Pay all pending bills. 
  • Make sure all of Mom’s borrowed books have been returned to the library.  IN PROGRESS.
  • Watch all pending episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News.   IN PROGRESS.
  • File all office papers.  IN PROGRESS.

Log

08:30 AM: I’m up.    

10:40 AM: iPodded to Ke$ha’s   Your Love is my Drug   repeater song.  I chuckle when recalling [Emmy's] disdain for this hit — maybe that’s why I like it so much, I don’t know.  :-)

02:15 PM: Puttered around in the front room downstairs (downstairs office), filing papers and discarding manuals and receipts for appliances which I no longer possess.  I found perhaps ten pounds of rubbish doing this.  I suppose I’ll have to go through my files at least once every five years instead of what I currently do, which is once every ten.  :-)  

02:30 PM: Cheerios with sliced bananas and almond “milk.” Positively orgasmic flavor! But don’t store your Cheerios in basements for long; lest you get cereal that tastes like your cellar smells. Seriously. Yuck!

03:25 PM: I have a new all-time favorite song for the week. It’s Ke$ha’s hit  Your Love Is My Drug. Hey, this way beats out Beethoven’s   Fifth Symphony, Frampton’s   Do You Feel Like We Do, Led Zeppelin’s   Stairway to Heaven, and Charley Pride’s   Kiss An Angel Good Morning. It even surpasses Hampton the Hampster’s   Hampsterdance Song; though I had to ponder that last one for a bit to know for sure.   :-)

05:40 PM: Filed papers (receipts, manuals, information pamphlets, and so on) in the downstairs office all afternoon.  Still not done yet, but there’s only one pile of stuff left, and I’m hoping to finish that either tonight or tomorrow. 

07:00 PM: I had a couple of olive oil sandwiches for supper. Take two slices of whole grain flatbread and smear about a teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil all over the insides. Then, sprinkle on some fresh oregano or basil and a bit of garlic salt, and there you are. Tastes just like the dipped bread served in the finest Italian restaurants. Mmmmm mmmmm!   But it’s not very filling however. ;-)

10:00 PM: Talked with [Emmy] on the phone.  Nothing new to report.  We just help each other keep from getting too lonely.  It’s nice. 

11:00 PM: Watched the 2010-08-26 and 2010-08-27 episodes of   NBC’s Nightly News   news show on the DVR. 

11:50 PM: Watched tonight’s episode (the season premier) of CBS’s   60 Minutes    news show on the DVR.  They covered the mosque near ground zero.  An interesting tid bit: Muslims have already been worshipping at this site for over a year, and the developer has gotten near-unanimous approval from community leaders four times now.  It seems that republicans are campaigning against this mosque the loudest. 

01:00 AM: Watched   Larry King Live   on CNN.  Tonight, King, interviewed President Jimmy Carter for the last time. 

01:15 AM: Signing off for tonight.  Have a good one and I’ll be back here again later on.  Take care.

Tom Hesley

Received Mail and Shipments

No deliveries on Sunday.

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