CoTT 2 House of Cards

[Headstall]

Had a three minute hailstorm here that was deafening. The hail was only pea-sized, but it was hella noisy... Cookie was scared... she burrowed under my arm.   The ground was covered. 

[Bucket1]

4 hours ago, dughlas said:

This was a day I hope not to repeat.

[Bucket1]

@Albert1434 cats are troublemakers 

I'm not sure how they will make it happen it but I'm imagining Looping in France and Joker in the US somehow coordinating their efforts to destroy Christmas trees and then look completely innocent...

And don’t you worry Clo, the collar of shame will not stop the destruction 

[Bucket1]

2 hours ago, Headstall said:

Had a three minute hailstorm here that was deafening.

I haven’t had any real hail storms with the new roof but imagine it would be like my car when I go through a car wash, the plastic roof gets very very loud

[Bucket1]

I know we are not supposed to talk politics here but @Marty, I did want to know why Ireland has declared war on the USA. Declaring that Subway bread is actually cake??? I only got a garbled snippet on the radio news. What’s going on?

[Headstall]

Incredible breaking news is keeping me awake. God bless everyone, everywhere. 

[Drew Espinosa]

9 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Incredible breaking news is keeping me awake. God bless everyone, everywhere. 

Just found out myself. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

 

Anyways, hey Handsome!!!

 

[clochette]

2 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

@Albert1434 cats are troublemakers 

I'm not sure how they will make it happen it but I'm imagining Looping in France and Joker in the US somehow coordinating their efforts to destroy Christmas trees and then look completely innocent...

And don’t you worry Clo, the collar of shame will not stop the destruction 

His first Christmas looping would nap in the tree  he didn't do it the years after. Minion never got an interest in the tree but likes to open the presents

About the cone if shame, dad took it off Minion yesterday and let him outside despite the fact we were supposedto wait until after the check up with the vet Saturday. He said the injury was heal and clean and that Minion was too much of a pain in the ass wanting to go out. I've left him alone with the 3 cats Tuesday afternoon and he is already overwhelmed  "they're annoying, they want out, then in, then out...", "I had to clean the litter box, it's gross! Plus one had poop beside it", "the old one puked" and yesterday at lunchtime he was texting me pictures of them like aww aren't they cute

[dughlas]

4 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

I know we are not supposed to talk politics here but @Marty, I did want to know why Ireland has declared war on the USA. Declaring that Subway bread is actually cake??? I only got a garbled snippet on the radio news. What’s going on?

Subway bread has five times the allowable amount of sugar by law.

[dughlas]

G'day y'all. The day has dawned wet and chill though the forecast is for it to clear and be dry. I hope so. I'd like to do some work outside to prep for winter. I had planned to do it yesterday when the weather was perfect for what I planned. Oh well ... I also have a late morning appt with my optometrist for a glaucoma test. I don't show any symptoms but dad has it and the doc would like to have a baseline to compare against in the future.

[Drew Espinosa]

Howdy y'all! These past several months, I've been super busy as the God-Emperor of Texas combatting Covid-19. I've been so successful, I expect I'll get all the Nobel prizes next year.

[Marty]

5 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

I know we are not supposed to talk politics here but @Marty, I did want to know why Ireland has declared war on the USA. Declaring that Subway bread is actually cake??? I only got a garbled snippet on the radio news. What’s going on?

Fuller story here, @Bucket1....

https://www.thejournal.ie/subway-sandwiches-5218826-Sep2020/

Basically it's a VAT (Value Added Tax) issue. Subway claimed they were being taxed higher than other sandwich providers. Turns out the sugar content in their rolls is higher than what can be legally called bread over here.

Reminds me of the "Are Jaffa Cakes really biscuits?" case in the UK from years ago. But in that case the manufacturers of Jaffa Cakes won their legal challenge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaffa_Cakes#Taxation

[Marty]

10 hours ago, dughlas said:

This was a day I hope not to repeat. The day started well enough. The pup and I went for our usual morning walk. It was nice. On the way home we stopped at Starbuck's for a caramel latte and a breakfast sandwich. It was a triple star day so there were bonus stars to be had. We also ran the car through the carwash. Got home right around 8am. About 8:20 as I was about to get in the shower my phone chimed with a text. It was dad's caretaker/companion. Dad was on the way to the er by ambulance could I meet him at the hospital? After a rushed shower I headed to the er. There's ongoing road construction between me and the hospital so it took longer to get there. Parked my car in the designated lot for er patients and headed inside. I had no idea why dad was here, was it his heart, back or hernia. Each had potential. I went to the checkin desk and told them who I was and that I was told my dad should have arrived via ambulance about 20-30 minutes prior. Well they checked their system and dad's not there. Okay. Since the place was empty they allowed me to sit down and try to find out what was going on. I texted my dad and his caretaker (she has a day job as assistant to the administrator of the memory care unit at a local facility and they had just opened a new building and were moving patients in). No answer from either so I called dad's cell phone. It seems that when the er doc saw the results from an mri he had done Tuesday evening he said you need to see a neurosurgeon. He called a local neuroscience practice and was able to get dad an immediate appt and since he'd arrived by ambulance they packed him off by cab to the specialist. So off to the neurosurgeon's I went. The thing is I passed that office on my way to the hospital as it's less than a mile from where Thistle and I walk each morning. When I arrived dad was already in an exam room answering preliminary questions so the receptionist took me there. Now dad already has severe stenosis of the lower spine but the mri showed compression fractures to two of the vertebrae in his lower back (likely the result of stepping in a hole in my yard two weeks ago when we were grinding brush) just above one he broke in 1952 when he was ejected from a car during an accident. The neurosurgeon called his back a mess and offered four options. A brace to stabilize his back for the next 4-6 weeks while his back heals; physical therapy for the pinched nerves though with his current pain level probably not something he could endure; an outpatient procedure to insert a small needle into the injured vertebrae to inject a cement to stabilize them and finally the least advisable, surgery (because of his heart he takes blood thinners, he's 86 and this would be major surgery with no guarantee of a positive result). Dad opted to try the brace. An appointment was made for an evaluation and fitting for 3:30 this afternoon. Meanwhile dad needed to consult his family doc about pain meds. We got back to dad's from the neurosurgeon with about 30 minutes to spare before we needed to leave for the noon appt with his family doc. Accomplished that with a prescription increasing his pain meds. Got him home again with a bit over an hour before we needed to leave for the 3:30 appt so I ran home to my house to let Thistle out and have a little lunch. Then back to dad's and off to the orthotist for his brace. The guy was very good and explained about the brace and had one that wouldn't require customizing. He brought one in and showed it to us and helped dad put it on. Typically once the brace is on the patient feels immediate relief. About one in fifty cases  the pain in the leg intensifies. Guess which group dad belongs in. Yep, he experienced additional pain and numbness in his leg. He wanted to try walking in the brace because sometimes walking helped ease the pain. So we walked out the hall then started back. We'd gone maybe 100 feet and I had to go get the wheelchair the pain was so bad. We had to wait a bit while the guy helped another patient. While waiting I asked dad how tight he'd pulled the brace (the brace wraps around the torso and secures with velcro, then two cords, one one each side, are pulled to cinch the brace tight). He told me he pulled it as tight as he could. I asked if he thought it might be too tight. When the orthotist was with us again we asked if that might be the problem. So he helped dad take it off and reapply it without cinching it as tight. Well that made a considerable difference. Dad was able to walk further without difficulty and was more comfortable. The trick was to initially only wrap it around his waist to fit, not to wrap it snug, and then cinch it snug with the cords. Fortunately, we left with dad more comfortable and wearing the brace. Hopefully between the support of the brace and the medication he'll be comfortable while his back heals. 

It was along day I left this morning just after 8:30am and got home a little before 6pm. I'm tired, my head aches and Thistle missed me. 

I was just glad to find out that the original call you received wasn't to prepare you for far more serious news than what it eventually turned out to be.  

[Marty]

31 minutes ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Howdy y'all! These past several months, I've been super busy as the God-Emperor of Texas combatting Covid-19. I've been so successful, I expect I'll get all the Nobel prizes next year.

Hey, Drew!

But, what's that I see in the sky???

Spoiler

Pull the other one, Drew-Pi-Doo. It's got bells on!

 

[Marty]

It's National Potato Day over here in Ireland.

Spoiler

 

[Page Scrawler]

5 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Howdy y'all!  These past several months, I've been super busy as the God-Emperor of Texas combatting Covid-19. I've been so successful, I expect I'll get all the Nobel prizes next year.

Hey, Cutie Pi!     How are things with you?   

Edited October 2, 2020 by Page Scrawler

[Valkyrie]

8 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

@Albert1434 cats are troublemakers 

I'm not sure how they will make it happen it but I'm imagining Looping in France and Joker in the US somehow coordinating their efforts to destroy Christmas trees and then look completely innocent...

And don’t you worry Clo, the collar of shame will not stop the destruction 

I don't bother with anything bigger than a two foot tabletop tree.  The first time I put up my larger tabletop tree, it took all of thirty seconds to land on the ground   And it pretty much stayed there every time I put it back up.  🙄

[Valkyrie]

7 hours ago, Bucket1 said:

I know we are not supposed to talk politics here but @Marty, I did want to know why Ireland has declared war on the USA. Declaring that Subway bread is actually cake??? I only got a garbled snippet on the radio news. What’s going on?

They're not wrong   I've never been a fan of Subway's food.  

[dughlas]

2 hours ago, Marty said:

It's National Potato Day over here in Ireland.

  Hide contents

 

So do you get 3 pints of Guinness and a ginger hobbit with every serving of po-tay-toes?

[dughlas]

2 hours ago, Marty said:

I was just glad to find out that the original call you received wasn't to prepare you for far more serious news than what it eventually turned out to be.  

Me too. Not knowing why he'd been taken there was worrisome. The only calming thought was that April wasn't going with him. I understand he is doing much better this morning.

[Headstall]

7 hours ago, Drew Espinosa said:

Just found out myself. It was bound to happen sooner or later.

 

Anyways, hey Handsome!!!

 

Hey, cutie pi!  

[Headstall]

4 hours ago, dughlas said:

G'day y'all. The day has dawned wet and chill though the forecast is for it to clear and be dry. I hope so. I'd like to do some work outside to prep for winter. I had planned to do it yesterday when the weather was perfect for what I planned. Oh well ... I also have a late morning appt with my optometrist for a glaucoma test. I don't show any symptoms but dad has it and the doc would like to have a baseline to compare against in the future.

Wet and chilly here too. Hey, bro.  

[Headstall]

37 minutes ago, Valkyrie said:

I don't bother with anything bigger than a two foot tabletop tree.  The first time I put up my larger tabletop tree, it took all of thirty seconds to land on the ground   And it pretty much stayed there every time I put it back up.  🙄

An excellent reason why cats are best as barn dwellers.   Hey, Val.  

[clochette]

I've just spent 2 hours and a half on the phone with my cousin who's in Grenoble. Her little guy is still inside and showing no signs of planning on popping out anytime soon apparently. She said she did everything to get him to come out, even spent the weekend cleaning the house and even deep cleaned car on her knees but nothing. Officially he's due for the 7th 

Plumber spent the afternoon working on the boiler and I have hot water again! 🚿🛀

Now back to the house, the cats and dad (if the cats haven't dealt with him )

Edited October 2, 2020 by clochette

[Albert1434]

Aloha All

 

A pier in Corinthia, Greece