Ethan’s Journey

 The beds are so hard. Shockingly, it isn’t too bad for sleeping. I slept well. We had beautiful weather today. A nice breeze so it felt “just right” outside. We went to the breakfast and lunch provided.  Heather and I walked around campus, went to the book store and listened to the birds through the Merlin app. It was disappointing there was nothing special that was recorded. I am not sure if I was expecting a blue footed booby to pop up on the ap. Bit there were just boring birds like Robins. After lunch, we stayed mostly in the courtyard of the dorm we were staying at. There were Adirondack chairs, picnic tables and tents to sit under to escape the sun. There was music on and it was a good vibe. One of our sorority sisters came out to visit Heather and I. We have known her well over 25 years. It was fun to visit with her. There were activities set up for us in the afternoon. They had a beer/wine tasting set up. They had good beer too. I had a hazy IPA -citrus fog by Souther...

 Paul and I worked and then drove up to SUNY Canton for our alumni weekend with our college friends. It was a long drive, but we finally made it. Heather came outside to greet us and was dancing. Today is her birthday!!!!! What a greeting! Paul, Jason, Heather and myself have a suite on campus. We each have our own room, but there is a living room and kitchen to hang out in.  There isn’t a lot of people that Heather and I knew, so we went for a walk on campus, like we were going to class. We saw a ground hog that was surprisingly not shy. We stopped and watched him for a bit. I liked his teeth. We met a couple that also met at Canton. They graduated in 1971. They were talking about how the campus has changed and where things used to be. They also shared the bars and hang out spots they would go. The guys went out to a bar. Heather and I took our bras off, did nothing and enjoyed the evening in. 

 Moe and Penny had their dental cleanings today. I was worried Moe was going to bite someone. Turns out he is far better behaved without out me. He doesn’t have to protect. No growling, no snapping. Perfect.  He keeps me on my toes. Penny had 5 teeth removed. Moe had a canine tooth and another removed plus a mass taken off of his gums.  Both got some good pain medications. Moe is quite out of sorts. His canine tooth, they kept it for me, was impressive! He is going to be SORE for a few days!  By Thursday afternoon, I am mentally exhausted these days. The long hours I am putting in turns my brain to mush. I was feeling it around 6 pm. Paul priced out doors today for Ethan’s building. They are special order and will take 6-8 weeks to arrive. I told Paul to get a move on!!!!! I made our final mortgage payment today. That felt good! Checking things off our list of feeling accomplished. 😊 Avery shared that she and Kendall will be joining us at the islands for the 4 th! T...

 I have heard from several people about facing the shower, putting your back to the shower or twirling. It seems the majority of people are twirlers. Little petite ballerinas in the shower! So funny. I am a stationary ballerina. 🩰 It’s probably for the best. I am not that graceful and would likely break a hip. I did some light reading during my coffee consumption time. It was a study on a medication that has been shown to help reduce protein in the urine, a side effect of kidney disease that Ethan struggles with. It seemed promising at first. All the cool things noticed in the study. Then I read the side effect of sometimes causing increase potassium. Potassium increases can be detrimental to heart health. Nope! Disqualified! I will keep reading, searching and asking questions! I asked Ethan if he would be interested in participating in stem cell therapy. They take donor stem cells (mine) and give them to the transplant recipient (Ethan). He said he would be interested in learning...

 I slept like absolute garbage last night. I felt tired but couldn’t fall asleep. There isn’t anything really stressful going on to put my “worry” module into a tailspin. Nothing other than the normal day in and day out business. Once I did fall asleep, I woke up dumb.  I say that because I lost my phone, forgot I was looking for my coffee -just wandering around trying to remember what I was looking for, put my shirt on backwards, used conditioner twice on my hair……my eyes felt heavy and my head hurt a little. I don’t care for that feeling. Two thumbs down! With some coffee and extreme focus, I made it through the day as best as I could. I had some help from other members of my team. They caught me up on some things which was so appreciated. This evening was party time. We celebrated my friend Sandy’s 25 th anniversary of her 25 th birthday. I sent Paul on a wild goose chase to Fairport when the pub was in Greece. Man, I am such a jerk! I didn’t know or otherwise I would not h...

Work is a lot. I knew it would be. I wish our software doesn’t break every day. Some day…..maybe? Moe was bugging me to go out and sunbathe at about 7:15 am this morning. He was out the majority of the day. I took him for a lap around the field. He jumped in the pond again. He also got a hose bath again. He will now be put on a leash prior to re-entering the yard. Dumb dog! He is very clean! Paul was pissed because the did some weed whacking in an area where there is poison ivy. His allergy is pretty sensitive. He saw that it looked like poison ivy, but still did weed whacking sending the poisoning to aerosol form.  He then asked questions. He didn’t like the answer. He even tried to tell me I was wrong and that it wasn’t poison ivy.  Any amount of denial won’t prevent someone from poison ivy onset. He had choice and colorful words after I confirmed that it in fact was poison ivy. He immediately showered and foreshadowed that his eyes would be swollen shut in the morning. Paul...

 Cousins weekend is over. The Diiulio’s (not us) have left the state. Paul and I caught up on yard work today. I was able to try out my mini chainsaw and cut up branches for kindling. I collected 4 bags worth so far.  We had a tree fall in our back yard a while back. Paul cut up the big pieces and I told him I would pick away at the smaller branches. We can use it for our campfires in our back yard or for more kindling this year. Ethan worked a bit in the garage. He took several rests. Yesterday morning he had to go to the lab. He signed in and had to wait for the 7 people ahead of him. He typically has several blood tests. They check his two rejection medication doses, CBC, chemistry panel to look at his organ function, some kidney related tests, electrolyte levels, tryglycerides, thyroid level, ferritin/ iron level to help assess kidney function. And more. He has an elevation in his potassium again. He has been so careful with avoiding potato’s, bananas, and potassium rich f...