Monday, August 17th
M was busy painting Mom's condo, so he was not here today. It was Mom's turn to pick, and she had just watched a documentary about Dolly Parton, so she was curious to see this movie. The film is from 1980, directed by Colin Higgins, and stars DP, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dabney Coleman. It's a good little comedy about three women kidnapping their boss for six weeks while they make improvements to the workplace. By the time the boss returns, his boss is so pleased with the improvements that they can't be undone. Very empowering and satisfying!
Mom called to see if I wanted something from Diamondhead Grill, and on a whim, I requested the prime rib plate without thinking. Getting prime rib reminds me of Christmas lunch I would have at my cousin’s on Maui when she would cook that, and it was so incredibly yummy! Of course, DHG did not cook it the same way, and I hadn’t thought about the exorbitant price of beef nowadays. That lunch cost me $38!! Oh well, it's only money…
Tuesday, August 18th
D1 came, and I told her the problem I had been having when my CNA would sit me up in bed. She started working on my right hip and said that she could feel things were out of alignment and the bone was protruding out in an obvious way. She worked on me and got the bone back in its correct alignment, and my leg immediately felt better. It occurred to me to tell the hospital about this, but I also thought it would create a lot of commotion over a problem that did not exist anymore, so I didn't say anything.
Wednesday, August 19th
The hospital staff understandably heard about the problem with my hip, and the head nurse for the floor talked to me about what had happened. During that conversation, she clarified that if someone is coming in and providing a service for me that I am paying for, they need to be fully licensed, credentialed, and insured to provide that service in this state facility. Obviously, Mom and I had not fully understood that, and I talked to my main masseuse, and she did have everything needed to continue working with me! Yay! She would make sure to have it when she came next Tuesday.
Last night, when I had my second of four servings of the prime rib plate I had gotten on Monday, my CNA had heated it briefly in the microwave. It had been OK, but I realized it would be better if I just ate it cold. So tonight, I calmly but repeatedly asked B, a CNA I was not crazy about, not to heat the beef, only the rice. I knew it was bad when she came back with a sheepish look on her face and immediately started apologizing. I was so mad inside I could spit, but she was genuinely sorry for what happened and I didn’t want to pile on top of her, so I let it go. (This is not the way to treat a $38 piece of meat.)
Thursday, August 20th
Today was the day my sister, M, and I went to see The Odyssey in IMAX! Not true IMAX, but some slightly lesser version that still was able to bear the name IMAX. True IMAX is a 25-foot-high screen with 70 mm film. The theater seemed to make up for any deficiencies by turning up the volume as loud as possible. It was certainly bigger than a regular theater. It had been a long time since I had seen a movie in the theater, and I was enjoying it.
I knew I wanted to get popcorn, and thinking back to my younger years, I knew I could eat a lot of it if I wanted to. "I need a bucket of my own," I said confidently. My sister looked at me and said that I would have a box of popcorn that she would refill as many times as I wanted. And then I tried to eat the popcorn, and my hand and fingers did not make it easy for me. I was getting my second Botox shot tomorrow, and I suddenly realized I really needed that as my fingers were very curled. At least my sister didn’t have to feed me the popcorn herself!
There were probably fewer than 40 people in the huge theater, and it was not as cold as Mom had made it out to be. My blanket and warm jacket were on my lap, which was fine. I was very irritated the next day when I realized we hadn’t taken a picture at the theater! Aargh! It was a good movie, I thought, and worth the $80 taxi ride there and back. (That's my main barrier to seeing a movie in the theater.)
Friday, August 21st
Today's adventure involved going to the doctor to get my second Botox injections in my left arm. Hawaii was celebrating Statehood Day, so there was less traffic and fewer people at the doctor’s office. My sister was able to meet us, so all three of us attended. All went very smoothly. I had wanted to get a higher dose of it, but the request had not been processed fast enough for it to happen this visit.
We went to the ground floor after the appointment and got a prepared lunch from the snack counter. I always love getting something different to eat. The doctor herself came downstairs and had a short conversation with Mom about our transportation. The Dr's brother uses a wheelchair as well, and I will have to tell her about my website next visit.
I play Wordle every day, and I am currently working on an over 160-day streak. My sister, my cousin on Maui, and I have a text thread where we share our results. We have all gotten pretty good at playing it, and finishing in three moves is not unusual. I am pretty boring in that I usually start with the same word, and amazingly enough, that was today's word, so I got it in one move! Sweet!!
Saturday, August 22nd
My sister was very busy today, and I almost felt bad about asking her to bring me some sushi. Almost. And then, my stepbrother called, and he and his wife were going to visit me today and bring the usual shrimp pad Thai. Perfect timing! I texted my sister that she did not have to come, which was great because she was traveling to Maui tomorrow for work she had to do during the week. So it all worked out.
I tried to have my stepbrother help me text invitations to my birthday party in early December, but we couldn’t get it to work properly. He did update a phone number for my stepsister, which was good. I will have to send out invitations on my own this week.
It goes without saying, but I will reiterate it anyway: if you are reading this, you are absolutely invited! Here are the details:
Friday, December 4th, 2026
Epiphany Episcopal Church - Parish Hall
3 PM - 7 PM
Jeff Peterson will perform from 3 PM to 4 PM
Food and soda provided!
RSVP to (808) 250-4630 by Nov 7
Sunday, August 23rd
Mom stopped by before lunch, so we played games and did a puzzle after she fed me some of the pad Thai my stepbrother brought me yesterday. We had a nice visit, and nowadays Mom is much better at monitoring herself and leaving when she feels tired since she still has to drive home. Good for you, Mom!
The cover photo this week is my sister and me with Mom in the background in the room where I got the Botox injections. My sister has a lot of experience taking selfies, so she can quickly aim the camera correctly to include herself. She developed the skill in the 90s when she would take group Polaroids at parties. Who knew that would translate into such a useful skill now? Have a fabulous week!
Add comment
Comments