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Gah, i wasn't watching the weather. Rains never seemed to come true. Well, finally a freeze. The tomatoes and holy basil are done for. I saw a bee buzzing around the frozen holy basil blossoms and felt sad i hadn't anything to offer it: i'd been delighted earlier in the week at just how many bees congregated around the holy basil.
The weather and the foliage have been glorious the past few days. The woods shimmer with gold and the sky is bright blue. I have not been thinking about watering, and i need to check on a few plants.
Saturday i made some significant progress on inbox-type actions -- the week had felt intense with evening meetings on Wednesday, Thursday (short, as not all were there), and Friday, along with signing and signing and signing for the refinance closure and then - ha! We have a new car! Well, new to us, and more fun than responsible (but better gas mileage than what we had). I told a few people who asked that it is a midlife crisis car. (Although, no crisis here - just at a point where we could have a fun car.)
The car is a Honda Civic SI, with a 6 speed manual transmission, and significantly more interior luxury than any vehicle we've ever had. We h past the engine and driving experience, so we were pleasantly surprised to find a moon roof and heated seats and fancy phone integrations.
Also Saturday, i dug a trench for putting potted plants in for winter protection. I put some of the natives -- the false indigo, aster, and the mint -- in the ground near the trench, and some i've left in pots, particularly the shrubs. Today i chipped up branches and an autumn olive and put pizza boxes down for a path and covered up with the wood chips. Much weeding, more raking of leaves and mulching. The bearded irises are putting out new growth. Is this normal? I'm trying to figure out how much i can or should mulch them.
Monday is Thanksgiving tamale prep at my sister's.
The damper is that Mom appears to be suffering from extreme constipation. I'm both frustrated and sad. I know she has had ulcerative colitis and probably irritable bowel syndrome, but she also has been in denial about her bodily needs since the stroke (who knows how long before). She does not want to bring her physical needs to attention, and i think she sees it being hard and tiring for dad to help her with toileting. So she doesn't communicate needs or admit needs. How much of this is stroke? How much is deep seated shame? Shyness? It's hard to know. And it's hard to know what to do about it: my sister and i repeat advice about drinking water, and she's not eating much -- it's hard to get her to eat. On the other hand Dad does not have an adventurous diet, so maybe she is just bored. We'll see how the tamales work out as far as being interesting and different. This all is assuming my diagnosis is right. Dad's taken her to the emergency room; I hope it all sorts out. My brother is in town and so he's gone to the hospital with Dad. I have assured my sister that we don't need to go, too. All evidence points away from something stroke adjacent. And my brother can do some lifting.
We had him over for dinner last night, and it was pleasant to visit. He's not really adjusting to the timezone though. I don't understand how he gets by on so little sleep. I haven't quite figured out his schedule: it seems to be working all Singapore time (over night) and then hanging out during the day with naps.
The weather and the foliage have been glorious the past few days. The woods shimmer with gold and the sky is bright blue. I have not been thinking about watering, and i need to check on a few plants.
Saturday i made some significant progress on inbox-type actions -- the week had felt intense with evening meetings on Wednesday, Thursday (short, as not all were there), and Friday, along with signing and signing and signing for the refinance closure and then - ha! We have a new car! Well, new to us, and more fun than responsible (but better gas mileage than what we had). I told a few people who asked that it is a midlife crisis car. (Although, no crisis here - just at a point where we could have a fun car.)
The car is a Honda Civic SI, with a 6 speed manual transmission, and significantly more interior luxury than any vehicle we've ever had. We h past the engine and driving experience, so we were pleasantly surprised to find a moon roof and heated seats and fancy phone integrations.
Also Saturday, i dug a trench for putting potted plants in for winter protection. I put some of the natives -- the false indigo, aster, and the mint -- in the ground near the trench, and some i've left in pots, particularly the shrubs. Today i chipped up branches and an autumn olive and put pizza boxes down for a path and covered up with the wood chips. Much weeding, more raking of leaves and mulching. The bearded irises are putting out new growth. Is this normal? I'm trying to figure out how much i can or should mulch them.
Monday is Thanksgiving tamale prep at my sister's.
The damper is that Mom appears to be suffering from extreme constipation. I'm both frustrated and sad. I know she has had ulcerative colitis and probably irritable bowel syndrome, but she also has been in denial about her bodily needs since the stroke (who knows how long before). She does not want to bring her physical needs to attention, and i think she sees it being hard and tiring for dad to help her with toileting. So she doesn't communicate needs or admit needs. How much of this is stroke? How much is deep seated shame? Shyness? It's hard to know. And it's hard to know what to do about it: my sister and i repeat advice about drinking water, and she's not eating much -- it's hard to get her to eat. On the other hand Dad does not have an adventurous diet, so maybe she is just bored. We'll see how the tamales work out as far as being interesting and different. This all is assuming my diagnosis is right. Dad's taken her to the emergency room; I hope it all sorts out. My brother is in town and so he's gone to the hospital with Dad. I have assured my sister that we don't need to go, too. All evidence points away from something stroke adjacent. And my brother can do some lifting.
We had him over for dinner last night, and it was pleasant to visit. He's not really adjusting to the timezone though. I don't understand how he gets by on so little sleep. I haven't quite figured out his schedule: it seems to be working all Singapore time (over night) and then hanging out during the day with naps.
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