Day 14 - Almost Home

Today I said goodbye to my daddy and the dog and even Sheila and to Idaho - we picked Sheila up from the airport yesterday and they will probably drive back to California some time next week - but for now - I'm on my way home...

Since I blogged from the Portland airport - thought I would take a few moments and do the same from Seattle - on my way home. Although the day started out a bit rough - I am half way there... We, of course, had to get about 8-10 inches of new snow last night - and it was slow and messy driving off the mountain this morning - took about 2 1/2 hours... but we left early so we got to the airport in plenty of time - got a call from my dad while we were in the air from Boise to Seattle that they made it home ok - which is good - the weather was terrible!

On the way down though we did get to see a couple of bald eagles in the trees - we saw them yesterday also - along with a coyote hanging out in an empty field. The coolest thing though is this plot of land near my dads place that has cattle grazing - and among the cattle is one solitary sheep - that hangs out with them when grouped together and follows them when they are walking around - it is just the coolest thing!

A couple of airport stories... when I was going through security and the security woman took my license and boarding pass - she commented that the picture didn't look anything like me - so I had to give her my address to prove it was me... a friend has always told me to never get lost because they will show my DMV picture on the news and no one will ever recognize me! I guess it is true!

And they have the new fancy schmancy naked picture super turbo body scanners in Boise - but I didn't have to go through one - as I'm collecting my stuff from x-ray - I notice this woman behind me has a Quizno's uniform on - so I ask her if she has to do that every day and she says yes - but they don't make her take her shoes off - so apparently if you work in the airport - you don't have to take your shoes off going through security.

And one last story about a fellow passenger... I had my boarding pass scanned and was making my way to the airplane and there was a woman that had just stopped in front of me and then started walking really slowly - so I'm walking behind her and she mentions that she has lost a glove and slows up even more to let me pass her - well - I'm in no hurry to get to the plane - it isn't going to take off without me - but, apparently, I was walking too slow for her then and she hurried in front of me - then she stops again because we are in a turbo prop and she has to leave her carry-on bag at the door to go under the plane - really - so I have to maneuver around her again. It turns out that she is seated in front of me - and has layers and layers of clothing on... a turtleneck, two fleece jackets and a long down jacket... it wasn't THAT cold in Boise - maybe she is connecting to Alaska. She was a very nervous, fidgety flyer as well! I took care of any of that problem by enjoying a complimentary glass of wine! So when the flight lands and we get to the gate - she jumps up and rushes in front of all these people to get out - 'I have a connecting flight' - like no one else does! She rushes out of the airplane only to have to wait for her carry on which was under the plane! It was all terribly amusing! But now - I am almost home - and as much as I love my father and I really do like Idaho - I just can't wait to be home!

Day 13 - Bittersweet

I know I have been remiss in keeping up on a daily blog - but at least I'm trying to be somewhat consistent! So my dad has been much better the last several days - just in time for my stepmom to get here and for me to leave tomorrow. He was talking this morning and he asked me what I thought the worst part of his month after surgery was - and I said - the time I've been here? He said no - just that he is tired all the time. Seriously though... who knew that he would be doing well before I got here - then take a nose dive while I'm here - and finally start feeling better as I'm getting ready to leave - good times!

Since he has been feeling better - the dog and I have been taking advantage and have taken a couple of trips into town (10 minutes away) and been on several nice long walks - good to get out of the house and get a bit of exercise even as cold as it has been. And then the highlight of yesterday was playing in the snow! My dad wanted me to check on some trees for him next to the house and so I got to romp through the snow to get to them and took some time to play - including making a snow angel - which if he knew what I was doing he would be mad - he was all worried I would catch a cold! God Bless Him...

So we finally had Thanksgiving dinner last night - turkey, yams, green beans and I attempted to make stuffing - it was terrible so we ended up throwing it out - bummer - that is my favorite part - next time I'll make from a box and not try to make it myself! We also had pumpkin bread for dessert - yummy!

I know when I leave one of the things that my dad will miss are the updates that I share with him from Facebook about what some of our other relatives are doing - especially the Nebraska relatives - each day he asks if there are any new updates and he always wants to see any new pictures!

Today we take the trip down to the big city - Boise - for a couple of doctor appointments and to pick Sheila up from the airport - then back down to the airport tomorrow as I head back to the great state of California! It's a little bittersweet - it's been such a tough road that I am looking forward to coming back - but my dad is just now feeling better so I'm sorry I'm missing out on some of the quality time I was really looking forward to... but I know I was here for a reason - all part of God's plan.

Day 12 - Tired

I'm tired tonight - so don't expect much... Today was actually a pretty good day - other than being really tired - my dad is feeling ok. And me... like I said - I'm just tired - not that I did a whole lot - was going to travel to the local market today but it snowed ALL day and decided not too... I'm going to attribute being tired to stress... So after I finish the dishes - I'm going to go through my dads medication and check for refills and then go to bed! Unless I get distracted by the snow that is still falling and sit up and watch it - very mesmerizing! Ok - I'm rambling - enough....

Day 11 - Random Funnies

I miss my mom tonight and don't feel like talking about my dad - so here are just a bunch of random funnies...

So I was looking at a local LA news website and found this headline...

Special Report: Crack In The Cradle... In this season of thanks, this station has been bringing you a special on the investigation of so called 'crack babies'...

Hmm... I'm trying to figure out the correlation between - season of thanks and crack babies.

And did you know that Black Friday is the biggest day of the year for plumbers?

I was watching the news this morning and they were doing a report on Black Friday shopping - they were outside a Best Buy store in San Francisco where people had lined up starting Wednesday morning - Crazy!

Also on the news they talked about some family in the midwest that had a rent a goat business to clean up your yard of overgrowth - they talked about it like it was some new crazy idea and all I could think of are the goats that 'clean up' the Laguna Beach hillside every year. Nothing new!

And last but not least - I was adding movies to my Netflix queue today and clicked to add The Hangover. They always make suggestion based on the movie you have selected and the suggestions were Old School, Wedding Crashers, Superbad (which was Super Bad by the way) and then they had Bourne Identity... it didn't seem to fit - unless they are assuming that I am a young male that enjoys action also - the odd thing - of those four - all of which I have seen - Bourne Identity was my favorite - so here's hoping The Hangover is as funny as I have heard.

Day 10 - Not So Bad

Just a quick post tonight - an update on my dad - we didn't end up in Boise today - thank goodness - and the day didn't suck as much - at least for me. My dad told me today that the doctor also mentioned yesterday that he thought my dad picked up some kind of stomach flu which is why he was nauseous - news to me - it's always nice when the caregiver is kept informed! Anywho... he was running a slight fever today so he spent most of the day in bed - which wasn't too bad for me. Of course I didn't bother to cook the turkey today - maybe tomorrow. And at some point I WILL be making the stuffing and pumpkin bread - whether he is better or not. We had baked chicken tonight with steamed vegetables and a baked yam - it was pretty good! My Thanksgiving was filled with an all day 'Burn Notice' marathon, 'Love Actually', 'Elf' and 'Pretty Woman' - twice. All that and a walk with the dog down the street.

Day 9 - Spoke Too Soon

I keep posting about what a good day it is and then everything goes wrong. As it did this morning at 3:30am when my dad woke me because he was in pain. It has nothing to do with his heart - that is all fine - although because of one of the heart medications he is on he thought he was bleeding to death. Suffice it to say it has to do with not eating enough green leafy vegetables or having an apple a day - and it is bad - we took a trip to the local doctor today and might take a trip to Boise tomorrow if he isn't feeling better. Truly - today has just sucked! But that's not what I'm writing about today - today is about some funnies - because that is what I need.

So I ended up in the local mercantile three times today for different medications - luckily there was someone different working each time - although it may have been funnier had the same person been working - based on the medication I was picking up, I'm sure they would have figured out what his problem was - how ironic though that I suspect that due to the stress of it all - I have the opposite problem! God - make it stop!

On my third time in to 'The Merc' as they call it in the Valley - I did discover several good radio stations - so at least I have that now to entertain me - which was nice when I had to make a fourth trip into town - this time back to the doctor's office for pain medication - it was a nice drive though - saw Bambi on the way. Earlier in the day when I was waiting for my dad outside the doctor's office I saw a whole heard of quail wandering around and as we were driving back we could see elk on the mountainside.

My favorite, though, was the sign that I saw outside the Barber shop that said 'Barber's got new glasses come on in for a cut.' Made me wonder how much business he lost before he got his new glasses!

And last but not least - it seems that the dog has become my new best friend - I've taken him with me on all the trips into town so my dad doesn't have to bother with him at the house - and he just gets so excited when he sees me put my jacket on - he's become my buddy! Enough for tonight - hopefully tomorrow won't suck as much!

Day 8 - A Better Day

Today was a better day - even though I was up at 6am - ugh! My dad was all gloomy this morning - anticipating what the cardiologist would be telling him - but it all started off nicely when the doctors office called him to set up the appointment before they even opened! So a little after 8am we were off to Boise - in a snowstorm - good times! But we did make it just in time for his appointment. So while my dad was in the doctors office - I sat out in the parking lot with Kenai - he and I went out for a walk and then we napped in the car for a bit until my dad was done.

The appointment went well - he was told that the problem he had the other night that sent him to the hospital is common and nothing to worry about (whether that is true or not - I don't care - it made him feel better and that is all that matters!) - and the nurse gave him a hard time about complaining about fatigue - as she put it.... 'Your surgery was only 3 weeks ago!' So he is feeling much better about it all - which helps me out - he should sleep better tonight - as should I since I won't be worrying so much about him waking in the middle of the night all panicked.

Let's see - what else has been going on... it has been snowing all day - if I had to venture a guess - I'd say we have had almost a foot of snow - and there is a winter storm warning through tomorrow night - so I suspect we should get even more... I may have to go out and make snow angels tomorrow! Will definitely be taking the dog on a nice long walk in the snow!

And their neighbors up here are WONDERFUL! Last night

one of them brought us dinner... pork roast with cornbread stuffing, caramelized carrots from her garden and homemade rolls! We had enough for tonights dinner also - yummy! Another neighbor plowed out the driveway tonight and then this afternoon I was at the post office picking up the mail and I hear someone say - Elizabeth - how is your dad - and I'm thinking - they must be talking to me - but I'm in the middle of nowhere and have only met a handful of people - but there was another one of the neighbors checking up on us!

So when we were in the city this morning - we stopped one more time at the grocery store to pick up some last minute items - I'm hoping we don't have to go down there again until next Tuesday for his doctor appointments - and I was thinking this afternoon since we will be staying in for the rest of the week and it's just the two of us - does it make a difference which day we celebrate Thanksgiving?!