SoINeedAName

Friday Fun – Returning Soon …

 Posted by at 7:53 am  Politics
Feb 232018
 

Unfortunately I just have too much on my plate right now.

I’ll be heading back to Illinois to

[1] Meet w/ Mom’s accountant to do her 2017 taxes – and begin work on a final estate tax form (w/e that is)

[2] Help the auction site we’ve used to sell the farmhouse, farm land and most of Mom’s belongings when she moved into Assisted Living empty out her apartment.  Fortunately there’s not that much since we worked so hard to sort & purge when she moved her into the apartment

[3] File the Will w/ the County Circuit Clerk & begin that paperwork.  Fortunately almost everything was either POD (Payable on Death) or had named beneficiaries – so looks like we’ll be able to avoid Probate.

But had another bump in the road.  My brother, who’s been having a series of serious medical issues, flew back to Florida a week ago last Wednesday (14th).  I drove back on the 15th – and when I got home there were a number of urgent messages on the voicemail.

That morning his cleaning lady found him unconscious on the floor.  Thank God it was her day to do the cleaning!

So back into the hospital he went for even more tests.  They found that he had 90% blockage of his left carotid artery.  So on Wednesday he had a endarterectomy done, and got to go home (which he was chomping at the bit to do) last night.

He has a special-needs kitty cat whose legs are almost paralyzed – so he has to put her in the litterbox and then take her out; take her to the food/water bowl; etc.  He has two other normal cats that he also dearly missed.  Since his wife passed last Labor Day weekend, the cats have become even more important to him.

At any rate, I hope that I’ll be able to do something next week.  Although I have my own taxes staring me in the face when I get back.  And this year I’ll have to start taking my RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) from my IRAs.  Just beginning to learn the ins-and-outs of how that works.

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Friday – Wish It Were More Fun …

 Posted by at 1:52 pm  Politics
Feb 022018
 

I’ll preface this post with a request for your indulgence, as well as your thoughts, prayers or whatever your means of spiritual support may be.

I think I mentioned that on January 10th my Mom entered into a Hospice program.  This was during her second hospitalization in less than a month for heart failure.

While most certainly this was not an easy decision, I have no qualms that it was the right decision.

She had actually asked that we talk with her internist PCP concerning Hospice ~ 18 months ago – so she realized even back then that her time on this earth was coming to a close.

Her PCP wisely told her back then that he could not sign the Certificate because she did not meet the necessary criteria to be admitted to a Hospice program.  Of course, I was much relived.  She took it with her usual equanimity.  (She’s always been solid as a rock – me … not so much.)

I’m blessed that SHE has been the one who has said “It’s time for me to move to Assisted Living” – “It’s time that I start using the wheelchair for long the long distance to the dining room rather than my walker” – “It’s time to revisit that talk with my PCP again about Hospice Care”

When someone who is first diagnosed with congestive heart failure at 101 y/o, the writing on the wall is pretty clear.

So with her second admission in less than a month in January, we again re-visited the subject with both her cardiologist and internist.  This time there was no hesitation that this was the right (and inevitable) decision.

But, sadly, it doesn’t make it any easier.

I fully admit that I’m the one having a much more difficult time with her “Final Journey” than she is.  (And  I am grateful she’s doing much better!).  Maybe most people will be fortunate enough to recognize that their time here is coming to an end.  I certainly hope I do.

The real difficulty for me is the fact that she lives 400 miles away … AND my cat.

I know I have shared with you that my shelter cat is NOT a friendly critter.  And because of that, the staff at Mom’s Assisted Living is not fond of him … AT ALL!

(I will note that while Nike and I have been up visiting, there have been at least three different Hospice nurses, the Hospice Chaplain, the Hospice Social Worker and Mom’s Pastor who’ve come to visit.  Each one has spent over 30 minutes with Mom, me and the cat – and not one of them has ever had a problem with Nike.)

But as I’ve tried to explain to them (especially as a Pediatrician), it’s like having a child with disabilities or other medical issues – you don’t just get rid of them & ask for exchange.  You play the cards you’re dealt.

But Mom likes the cat and asks that I bring him along.  That’s a request I simply cannot refuse.

But it’s made trips up to Mom’s very stressful in and of itself.  That’s now compounded by Mom being in Hospice.  Hopefully the facility and I have worked out a program that will prevent any further problems involving the cat – both on Nike’s part AND on the staff’s part.  (Won’t go into the details, but some on the staff have treated the cat less than kindly.)

At any rate, I’ll try, as best I can, to continue with the “Friday Fun”.  But hope you will understand if I miss a few entries when I’m just not feeling up to it – like today.

As most of you probably know from your own personal experiences, this is just not an easy time for me.

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Friday Fun – Abbreviated

 Posted by at 12:25 pm  Politics
Jan 262018
 
Since I didn’t get home until late yesterday afternoon after a somewhat harrowing visit – involving the cat, not my Mom – I only had time (and energy) to create something I saw from a cartoon.

Scrabble Decisions …

Why Not Both!

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Friday Fun: The Girther Movement

 Posted by at 6:36 am  Politics
Jan 192018
 

As we all know, White House physician, Dr. Ronny Jackson, has declared that Trump is allegedly in “excellent health” … all 6’-3” & 239 pounds of him.

But doubts about the accuracy of this assessment have swept through the Twittersphere & Internet.  And thanks to Chris Hayes, we now have the mocking rise of the “Girther Movement”.

Well, you can count me as a card-carrying “Girther”!

And I’m joined by some famous folks …

And speaking of Pres. Obama and health, let’s start the comparisons with this one:

And to set the record straight WRT his “alleged” 6’ 3” height

Of course much more popular ones compare Trump’s height and weight with some well-known sports figures:

And this one has especially gotta sting:

But with Trump’s rampant narcissism, he no doubt sees it this way:

I would never call in to question the physician’s veracity – but others might …

[OK – that one’s Photoshopped … but still funny]

And it’s not like Trump doesn’t have a long history of playing fast and loose with facts and the truth …

But beyond the spurious height and weight is that mental acuity test he “aced” …

And about that Montreal Cognitive Assessment Test?  Well, there was this exchange during the test …

“Technically it’s a rhinoceros, sir.  But ‘pointy-nose horse’ will do just fine, Mr. President.”

And the challenge from James Gunn has been made to Donald …

That’s great, but I fear this is the likely outcome:

 

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Friday Fun: Blaming CME for BRIEF & LATE Friday Fun: Christmas Redux

 Posted by at 6:24 pm  Politics
Dec 222017
 

I can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I only have 0.75 more hours to earn that will allow me to renew my medical license, so I should be able to get that done tomorrow.  I usually like to earn an extra hour as a safety cushion in case I got the Certificate Expiration Date wrong.  (But this year, maybe just a half-hour … or none at all!)

I told Mom when I left on Wednesday I would come back on Christmas day, and I’m anxious to see her!  This Rehab unit doesn’t provide phones, so I got her another, newer (but el cheapo – kind of like a burner phone) cell phone.  But after working with her for over an hour, she just can’t see the buttons to use it because of her macular degeneration.  So I haven’t talked to her for a couple of days – although I call the nurse’s station daily to check-in on how she’s doing: thankfully, very well!  (I’m trying to look at it as practice for the inevitable permanent disconnect….  Lord, I’m going to miss those phone calls!)

At any rate, my brother is flying in from Tampa on Wednesday for a few days, so I’m hoping to get all those year-end chores (CME, license renewal, bills paid, personal property tax paid, real property tax paid [OUCH!], year-end donations made, etc.) done by tomorrow so I can head up Sunday – a day early.  Unfortunately, they’ve now moved SNOW into our forecast for early (2 AM) Sunday morning north from KCMO along I-35 to at least the Iowa border, so I’ll have to wait and see.

YIKES!  You’re three paragraphs into reading this maudlin screed, and it’s all about me whining.  ENOUGH!  Well, almost … just a note that this will be just a snippet from a previous year’s Xmas offering.  So you can re-visit the full thing here:

https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2015/12/23/christmas-fun-in-song-with-the-penguins/

WTH … since I’m dogging it, let’s throw in a link to another one about Christmas Cats:

https://www.7thstep.org/blog/2015/12/18/friday-fun-celebrating-christmas-with-the-cats/

Having gotten away with recycling old work, I’ll leave you with this song that I really get a big kick out of this time of year!  You’ll recognize the tune right off the bat:

 

“Hark!” the Herald Penguins sing:

“Please don’t eat our little wings!

“Eat a goose down to the bone,

“But leave Penguins all alone.

 

“Baby ducks are very sweet;

“Tastier than Penguin meat

“If we’re packaged in your store,

“Find us in your grocery store?!?

“Please don’t shop there anymore!”

 

And so I wish all of you – no matter how (or even if) you celebrate this time of year – a most relaxing, blessed and joyous Holiday with family and friends … whether they join you on 1, 2 or even 4 legs.  (Any more than four legs, and you probably should call an exterminator.)

(You just gotta wonder HOW they got that cat to do it.  But I don’t think s/he is a very happy feline, do you?)

 

 

 

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Friday Fun Potpourri – The Denture Version

 Posted by at 9:30 am  Politics
Dec 082017
 

[There’s a reason this will be just a little of this and a little of that.  My medical license expires January 31, 2018 – but I have to earn all my CME (Continuing Medical Education) credits by December 31, 2017.  And for the past decade or so I’ve earned all my credits by focusing on medical issues involving me or my family – no Pediatrics, all Internal Medicine.  So it’s like going back to med school for me.]

[So I’m spending LOTS of time doing online IM education.  And since it’s almost all new to me, it takes more time than if I just did Peds.  But I’d much rather learn stuff that will be useful – and I really do enjoy it!]

Enough of my “The-dog-ate-my-homework” excuse.  And fortunately we can almost always count on Twitler screwing up in new ways to provide grist for the mill – and he came through yet again.

To begin, I’ll stipulate that there’s nothing wrong with having dentures.  My Mom has upper and lower dentures, and when we were kids, she’d sometimes take them both out for a laugh.  She never spoke without them being in place, but apparently the Twitterverse has decided that Trump was having some denture problems (or maybe drugs or a stroke) during his “Jaroozhulum” speech this past week.

Of course, given my hearing loss, me writing about Trump’s apparent speech impediment is similar to Trump trying to be President – we both suffer from severe handicaps.  So I’d be interested in your feedback.

This short clip has a good close-up of his mouth, and it does appear that he’s having problems with his lower dentures:

While people are wanting an explanation for why Trump was talking like this at the end, I want an explanation for the rest of his speech!

But the Twitterverse was not going to pass this one up, so let’s enjoy a few of their contributions.  And as always, to enjoy the responses, click on the Time-Date-Stamp in the lower left area to open it in its own window, then scroll down.

And it really took off when The Daily Show pleaded with its followers to NOT – under any circumstances – Tweet DO NOT TWEET #DentureDonald. He’s shenshitive.

So, of course, a new meme hashtag was born …

For the heck of it, let’s see what Donald would look like sans dentures …

And “hear” him speak …

But it’s the Holiday season, so let’s end on a positive note …

While California is being devastated by unimaginable wildfires, the video showing the pure anguish and desperation of a young man risking his own life to save a bunny rabbit will certainly tug at your heart strings …

I don’t know about you, but for me it had this effect …

 

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A “Friday Fun” Bonus …!

 Posted by at 4:06 pm  Politics
Dec 012017
 

Because who knew Christmas was going to come early?

From the get-go, Trump should have listened the US Deputy Attorney General appointed by Pres. Obama, Hon. Sally Yates, when she testified …

But “NOOOOOOOO” – so now he wants to ask this question … “For a friend”:

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Friday Fun: Critter-Proofing Your Christmas Trees

 Posted by at 8:04 am  Politics
Dec 012017
 

According to the old Andy Williams’ song, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”.  Since the calendar tells we now need to “Deck the Halls”, it’s time to head to our attics, basements, closets or storage units and drag out our Christmas decorations.  And for many of us, this will be done under the vigilant supervision and “assistance” of our Critters!

So I thought it would be helpful to see how some folks go about “Critter-Proofing Christmas Trees”.  Let’s start with some of the easier ways of accomplishing this.  (And click on the photo to view it full-size)

Apparently this guy has combined minimalism with his “Bah Humbug” and cheapskate spirit into one.  He simply finds an entirely empty corner of his home, puts up a cardboard wall so high no one can see over it, and then just TELLS people it’s there to protect the “Christmas tree” behind it from his cats.

Keeping with that same minimalism and cheapskate spirit, you could get a tree so teeny, tiny that you can carry it around in a glass test tube with a cork stopper.

But why not simply put it outside?

Well, some owners are willing to compromise with their critters and meet them halfway

Or even more foolproof …

Or just surrender …

Others are willing to work out alternatives – like decorating a wall …

Or staying with wall-decorating if you happened to be “blessed” with large chunks of Astro-Turf …

Or maybe more artfully, a fancy picture frame, which I thought was quite lovely …

But if you desire something more three-dimensional, one of your tomato cages from summer gardening turned upside-down, and covered in an old piece of macramé and a green bath towel will do in a pinch.  And if you want to be extravagant, a single strand of lights adds a nice touch without going overboard …

Then there are those who have a mean streak and substitute a cactus for the Christmas “tree”.  It confronts the critters with that “I-Dare-You” feel to it …

But for those who really want an actual decorated Christmas tree, there are some options, too.  Like putting it – rather than your critter – in a cage …

 

Or if you want to be fancier, place it in a handsome vitrine

And if you’re not lucky enough to have a handsome vitrine, Saran wrap will do nicely, thank you very much …

But for those who want a more open, genuine exposure, try enlisting a couple of vacuum cleaners to serve as sentries.  (Not sure how it works with dogs, but I know my cat wouldn’t even THINK of entering the room!)

If you’re artistically inclined, you can create quite a handsome ceiling art work mimicking a Christmas tree out of ornaments …

But if you’re not artistically endowed – but are handy with tools in a “DIY” way – you can hang the tree upside down from the ceiling …

AND if you’re a truly accomplished Do-It-Yourselfer who’s exceptionally handy with tools … AND happen to have a very tall tree … AND it’s very flexible … AND you refuse to shorten it … AND you want to protect it from your pet FOX!!!

Well, there’s a solution for that one, too …

Here’s hoping all your ornaments stay in one piece, and you along with your critters enjoy Christmas in peace.

 

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