Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I have been finding that being unable to drive as I get a little older is sucking. Because I am now limited in what at times I can do for myself.

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Man... I'm sorry about that Brenda. In the future I'm really going to have to figure out if I can get down by my brother or if I can get him up by me. At the moment he can ride on his e-bike and get things he'd need if my old man couldn't do it for him anymore, but with age that's probably not going to be a possibility anymore for him.

Have you considered an e-bike? It really gives him a lot of freedom he never had in his life before.

And with gas prices what they are today it's the first time I've ever heard him say he's happy he can't drive a car.

Quote:

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Yeah, you right. I've heard people down in the lobby arguing over stuff and I just don't want to get involved in whatever it is. I just mind my own business. If I see someone I will say hello and maybe talk about the weather or some such thing but that is it.

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Yeah. I get that.

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My hands need a break. I was stressing them out and they need a rest and a stretch in a different way.

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My back does too. I don't really have the ideal setup for sitting around for hours and working on the project. I keep needing to get up and move around.

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I always have a pen and paper on me when I go out, so I can maybe grab a cup of coffee and do some writing.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I have been finding that being unable to drive as I get a little older is sucking. Because I am now limited in what at times I can do for myself.

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Man... I'm sorry about that Brenda. In the future I'm really going to have to figure out if I can get down by my brother or if I can get him up by me. At the moment he can ride on his e-bike and get things he'd need if my old man couldn't do it for him anymore, but with age that's probably not going to be a possibility anymore for him.

Have you considered an e-bike? It really gives him a lot of freedom he never had in his life before.

And with gas prices what they are today it's the first time I've ever heard him say he's happy he can't drive a car.

Quote:

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Yeah, you right. I've heard people down in the lobby arguing over stuff and I just don't want to get involved in whatever it is. I just mind my own business. If I see someone I will say hello and maybe talk about the weather or some such thing but that is it.

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Yeah. I get that.

Quote:

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My hands need a break. I was stressing them out and they need a rest and a stretch in a different way.

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My back does too. I don't really have the ideal setup for sitting around for hours and working on the project. I keep needing to get up and move around.

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I always have a pen and paper on me when I go out, so I can maybe grab a cup of coffee and do some writing.

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Nice.

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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Here in CA if you've had a seizure in the past few years you're prohibited from getting a driver's license. I don't know if auras count, but if you lose awareness for any length of time that can be dangerous.

Do they have driving services there, BRENDA? Here they have something called Dial-a-Ride. It's a bit restricted in that you have to schedule it ahead of time and it's a shared ride, but that might reduce the number of walks you have to take, especially in bad weather.

AFA getting heavy things... that's a tough one. I'm sure you don't like to impose on your friends. If you order some things new, like appliances or furniture, they deliver and (in the case of appliances) install. Maybe for some things like small pieces of furniture (chairs and such) you can have them deliver? It will cost $$$ tho. At some point, if we live long enough, we will all face not being able to drive.
My grandma lived to a ripe old age of 93 w/o ever driving. But then, she had three children living nearby.

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
HANDY DART there sounds like Dial-a-Ride here. There's a form that needs to be filled out by a Dr here, too.

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:

Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I have been finding that being unable to drive as I get a little older is sucking. Because I am now limited in what at times I can do for myself.

---

Man... I'm sorry about that Brenda. In the future I'm really going to have to figure out if I can get down by my brother or if I can get him up by me. At the moment he can ride on his e-bike and get things he'd need if my old man couldn't do it for him anymore, but with age that's probably not going to be a possibility anymore for him.

Have you considered an e-bike? It really gives him a lot of freedom he never had in his life before.

And with gas prices what they are today it's the first time I've ever heard him say he's happy he can't drive a car.

Quote:

---

Yeah, you right. I've heard people down in the lobby arguing over stuff and I just don't want to get involved in whatever it is. I just mind my own business. If I see someone I will say hello and maybe talk about the weather or some such thing but that is it.

---

Yeah. I get that.

Quote:

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My hands need a break. I was stressing them out and they need a rest and a stretch in a different way.

---

My back does too. I don't really have the ideal setup for sitting around for hours and working on the project. I keep needing to get up and move around.

Quote:

---

I always have a pen and paper on me when I go out, so I can maybe grab a cup of coffee and do some writing.

---

Nice.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

---

An e-bike might suit some of my needs but with other things that I want that are far heavier than groceries. It wouldn't.

That's the thing about a car. Someone at mah jong said to me oh you are still young enough to learn to drive. But in my case there is a safety thing now. My reflexes aren't that good any more and if my seizure meds were to stop working and I cause an accident.

Exactly. Not a good thing to take sides in apartment building squabbles.

I've been there with my back too. I can stop typing every so often and stretch my fingers and hands so I'm not doing too much damage.

Yeah, learned that with this first book and working on ideas for my second.

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

I'd say I'm about 80% done with it now.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:

Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I have been finding that being unable to drive as I get a little older is sucking. Because I am now limited in what at times I can do for myself.

---

Man... I'm sorry about that Brenda. In the future I'm really going to have to figure out if I can get down by my brother or if I can get him up by me. At the moment he can ride on his e-bike and get things he'd need if my old man couldn't do it for him anymore, but with age that's probably not going to be a possibility anymore for him.

Have you considered an e-bike? It really gives him a lot of freedom he never had in his life before.

And with gas prices what they are today it's the first time I've ever heard him say he's happy he can't drive a car.

Quote:

---

Yeah, you right. I've heard people down in the lobby arguing over stuff and I just don't want to get involved in whatever it is. I just mind my own business. If I see someone I will say hello and maybe talk about the weather or some such thing but that is it.

---

Yeah. I get that.

Quote:

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My hands need a break. I was stressing them out and they need a rest and a stretch in a different way.

---

My back does too. I don't really have the ideal setup for sitting around for hours and working on the project. I keep needing to get up and move around.

Quote:

---

I always have a pen and paper on me when I go out, so I can maybe grab a cup of coffee and do some writing.

---

Nice.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

---

An e-bike might suit some of my needs but with other things that I want that are far heavier than groceries. It wouldn't.

That's the thing about a car. Someone at mah jong said to me oh you are still young enough to learn to drive. But in my case there is a safety thing now. My reflexes aren't that good any more and if my seizure meds were to stop working and I cause an accident.

Exactly. Not a good thing to take sides in apartment building squabbles.

I've been there with my back too. I can stop typing every so often and stretch my fingers and hands so I'm not doing too much damage.

Yeah, learned that with this first book and working on ideas for my second.

---

My brother absolutely adores his e-bike. It's his pride and joy. I've never seen him take such good care of something he owned before in my life.

It's by a brand called Aventon, I believe. This thing has a battery that will take him something like 30 miles round trip if he didn't pedal at all, but you can pedal on it too and extend the life of the battery.

I'd imagine that you could probably even get some sort of "wagon" to attach to the back of it to haul bigger things if you wanted to. I'm going to guess that you're probably 100lbs less than he is, so right there you'd have 100lbs of extra carrying capacity.

This time he didn't mess around with a piece of junk toy that was more like a glorified Power Wheel. This thing is closer to a small street legal electric motorcycle. I think he might have paid somewhere around $1,500 for it.


I'm so glad I pushed my dad into allowing him to buy it. He was strongly against the idea. But the amount of freedom and personal agency it's given him since he got it is astounding. And now that he lives in a reasonably smaller town that has everything within a reasonable distance from his place, there's really nothing he can't do with his bike that he could have done with a car. The only time that isn't true is when the weather is really bad.

I know the price is high, but I do think it's something you may want to consider, Brenda.

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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I'm sure it is possible to hook up a wagon or something to an e-bike. There is the recharging issue though. My apartment building is an older building and not set up for anything like that. Also I would have to check out the driving rules for someone with a seizure disorder. That complicates things for when it comes to handling any equipment that you have to "drive".

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Anyways. It is Sunday and that means I have lots of time for book work which I will get to in a while.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I'm sure it is possible to hook up a wagon or something to an e-bike. There is the recharging issue though. My apartment building is an older building and not set up for anything like that. Also I would have to check out the driving rules for someone with a seizure disorder. That complicates things for when it comes to handling any equipment that you have to "drive".

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It just plugs into a regular wall outlet. Nothing special required. The battery itself attaches to the frame between your legs and can be taken off with a key. Although I think that's just for replacing them (or swapping them out if you're RICH, because replacement batteries do cost around $500). I don't think my brother needs to remove it to charge it in the wall. I could ask for you.

At least where my brother is, there's no requirement for having any special license to drive it. If there were, he wouldn't qualify since he's barred from getting a driver's license because of his vision issue. I'm not sure what the laws in Canada would be, and I think you live in a more populous area than my brother does.

It comes limited at 20MPH, but I believe that with the app included you could reduce that to whatever speed you would feel comfortable for the max speed. You can also choose to just ride it as a regular bike whenever you wanted and only use the POWER for when you're going to be hauling stuff.





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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Anyways. It is Sunday and that means I have lots of time for book work which I will get to in a while.

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Still plugging away at my project too.

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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Another thing to consider is that in these parts even bicycles are prohibited from sidewalks. E-bikes are on the road with cars, motorcycles and bicycles.
If your city has bicycle lanes and/or the traffic isn't too fast you'd be ok but I'd hate to be on a four lane boulevard. Especially with parked cars.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I am happy. So happy.

I am almost finished retyping my book onto this computer. Today I got through the rest of Ch. 27, then Ch. 28 and Ch. 29.

Just two more and I will be able to email the person who has agreed to help me.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
I am happy. So happy.

I am almost finished retyping my book onto this computer. Today I got through the rest of Ch. 27, then Ch. 28 and Ch. 29.

Just two more and I will be able to email the person who has agreed to help me.

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That's great Brenda!



I'm getting close to finishing my project as well. I'm on the final stretch of grinding. All I have to do after this is a few tweaks to 2 or 3 parts, then a quick manual scan of the parts to make sure everything is in working order and I didn't break one thing to get another thing working right.



If I don't finish it today, it will have to wait for a while. I think I'm going to visit my grandma tomorrow to break up the monotony of her days while my old man is down visiting my brother for a full week. Usually he doesn't go down that long, and I know the winter boredom is hitting her really hard this year. Hopefully my car is up to the challenge.

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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Probably have to postpone the visit another day. :(

I'm found an episode of a show she remembered from a long time ago on the Tube and downloaded it. I'm also going to bring a few movies she hasn't seen in a long time and we're going to watch them. She doesn't know that yet. It's going to be a surprise.



I'm also going to bring my camera to take some pics of her showerless tub that is leaking everywhere. She hasn't used it in 2 years, and it's getting far to hard to get her to my aunt's place to shower her there, especially in the winter, and because she's just not doing anything anymore. I'm going to get her to get up and walk around and do a few laps around the 1st floor every hour or so the whole time I'm there. I got her an egg timer to remind her to do that... I'm just hoping she remembers to use it when I'm not there.

My aunt got a quote for just removing the tub and walls and put in a walk in shower base and let's just say that it is completely unaffordable for her.

My friend's dad has paid off his debts to me and he's still battling some health issues of his own, but I'm hoping I can get him to come over and give me a quote on what he'd want just to fix the plumbing, pick up materials and help me set the shower base on the fixed drain pipe.

I'm just going to put up vinyl walls and it's going to be a quick and dirty job, but the house is going to be sold as is anyhow and the rest of the bathroom already looks like crap anyhow. I just want my aunt to have a place to bathe my grandma without it being a massive half-a-day chore.

I've also got 3 grab bars that I took when I helped demolition a bathroom a few years ago, so I'm going to install boards behind the new walls so I can screw them down tight and she'll have something that won't budge to hold onto wherever she is in there. We might possibly put a folding bench in the back for her to sit on too, but one that would support her weight is pretty pricey, so I'm just going to put some boards back where it would go so it's always an easy option down the road.

I just hope my friend's dad is up for it. I don't know crap about plumbing and I won't be able to do the job without him, or without my aunt and grandma shelling out a lot of money for a plumber.

--------------------------------------------------

Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Probably have to postpone the visit another day. :(

I'm found an episode of a show she remembered from a long time ago on the Tube and downloaded it. I'm also going to bring a few movies she hasn't seen in a long time and we're going to watch them. She doesn't know that yet. It's going to be a surprise.

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Quote:

---

I'm also going to bring my camera to take some pics of her showerless tub that is leaking everywhere. She hasn't used it in 2 years, and it's getting far to hard to get her to my aunt's place to shower her there, especially in the winter, and because she's just not doing anything anymore. I'm going to get her to get up and walk around and do a few laps around the 1st floor every hour or so the whole time I'm there. I got her an egg timer to remind her to do that... I'm just hoping she remembers to use it when I'm not there.

---

Quote:

---

My aunt got a quote for just removing the tub and walls and put in a walk in shower base and let's just say that it is completely unaffordable for her.

My friend's dad has paid off his debts to me and he's still battling some health issues of his own,

---

Quote:

---

but I'm hoping I can get him to come over and give me a quote on what he'd want just to fix the plumbing, pick up materials and help me set the shower base on the fixed drain pipe.

I'm just going to put up vinyl walls and it's going to be a quick and dirty job, but the house is going to be sold as is anyhow and the rest of the bathroom already looks like crap anyhow. I just want my aunt to have a place to bathe my grandma without it being a massive half-a-day chore.

I've also got 3 grab bars that I took when I helped demolition a bathroom a few years ago, so I'm going to install boards behind the new walls so I can screw them down tight and she'll have something that won't budge to hold onto wherever she is in there. We might possibly put a folding bench in the back for her to sit on too, but one that would support her weight is pretty pricey, so I'm just going to put some boards back where it would go so it's always an easy option down the road.

I just hope my friend's dad is up for it. I don't know crap about plumbing and I won't be able to do the job without him, or without my aunt and grandma shelling out a lot of money for a plumber.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Got my walk in but couldn't avoid the rain. It rained on me as I was going to the library. Oh well.

Just having a nice sit down for today as I tired my hands out with all the typing I did yesterday. I also have to put those finished chapters away and get out the last two. Fingers on my right hand are stiff today.

Bought a garlic sausage over the weekend and ate half of it. The brand used to be good but has no flavour now. But enough garlic and pepper in it to upset my stomach over night. Had to throw the rest of it out.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
Got my walk in but couldn't avoid the rain. It rained on me as I was going to the library. Oh well.

Just having a nice sit down for today as I tired my hands out with all the typing I did yesterday. I also have to put those finished chapters away and get out the last two. Fingers on my right hand are stiff today.

Bought a garlic sausage over the weekend and ate half of it. The brand used to be good but has no flavour now. But enough garlic and pepper in it to upset my stomach over night. Had to throw the rest of it out.

---

I don't know abut you, but my stomach won't tolerate things that it used to. I have to be careful about coffee, and garlic and hot peppers give me a stomach ache.

Sorry about the rain, BRENDA. Rest up your hand, it's no good if you overstrain it.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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Quote:

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Chicken wings for supper and I think some couscous as well.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

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Chicken wings for supper and I think some couscous as well.

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I really like chicken wings.

Are you ok with broccoli and onion? Bc I tried a recipe from one of my books- chicken, rice, broccoli and cheddar - and it came out fab. If you're interested I'll post the recipe.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

---

Quote:

---

Originally posted by SIGNYM:

Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Probably have to postpone the visit another day. :(

I'm found an episode of a show she remembered from a long time ago on the Tube and downloaded it. I'm also going to bring a few movies she hasn't seen in a long time and we're going to watch them. She doesn't know that yet. It's going to be a surprise.

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Oh, won't that be lovely! I'm sure she'll love the entertainment and the company!

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I told her about that twice today and that I'm not going to watch them without her so she'd better get better!

She seemed real excited about it.

Quote:

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Quote:

---

I'm also going to bring my camera to take some pics of her showerless tub that is leaking everywhere. She hasn't used it in 2 years, and it's getting far to hard to get her to my aunt's place to shower her there, especially in the winter, and because she's just not doing anything anymore. I'm going to get her to get up and walk around and do a few laps around the 1st floor every hour or so the whole time I'm there. I got her an egg timer to remind her to do that... I'm just hoping she remembers to use it when I'm not there.

---

Oh, indeed. I have an exercise plan for myself. But it's hard to stay motivated. I need to set an alarm for myself like I have set arlarms for other things ... wake up, get dear daughter up, walk and (later) potty break for the dog, start dinner etc. If I can habituate myself to exercise it'll be easier.

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Yeah. And thank god for your memory. I'm afraid that once I'm not there to get her to do it she'll forget why that timer is there or where it even came from. :(

Quote:

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Quote:

---

My aunt got a quote for just removing the tub and walls and put in a walk in shower base and let's just say that it is completely unaffordable for her.

My friend's dad has paid off his debts to me and he's still battling some health issues of his own,

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How's he doing BTW?

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He sounds great when I talk to him, and the last time I saw him he looked better than I've seen him in a while. They actually took him off the life vest because his "numbers" are looking so good. And that's without any surgery. He's just so skinny now, when he had amazing calf and thigh muscles for a 73 year old not long ago. It's amazing how fast that goes at that age if you're not keeping up with the work and working out.

Quote:

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Quote:

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but I'm hoping I can get him to come over and give me a quote on what he'd want just to fix the plumbing, pick up materials and help me set the shower base on the fixed drain pipe.

I'm just going to put up vinyl walls and it's going to be a quick and dirty job, but the house is going to be sold as is anyhow and the rest of the bathroom already looks like crap anyhow. I just want my aunt to have a place to bathe my grandma without it being a massive half-a-day chore.

I've also got 3 grab bars that I took when I helped demolition a bathroom a few years ago, so I'm going to install boards behind the new walls so I can screw them down tight and she'll have something that won't budge to hold onto wherever she is in there. We might possibly put a folding bench in the back for her to sit on too, but one that would support her weight is pretty pricey, so I'm just going to put some boards back where it would go so it's always an easy option down the road.

I just hope my friend's dad is up for it. I don't know crap about plumbing and I won't be able to do the job without him, or without my aunt and grandma shelling out a lot of money for a plumber.

---

We have the same problems with our bathrooms. Tried contacting a couple of contractors but they never called back. They must be very bsuy!

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Yeah. My aunt called 3 places and only got one place that wasn't booked up. I can't imagine how with the insane prices they charge now.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Brenda:
She'll love those surprises.

You are a good grandson, SIX. I'm sure she's very proud of you.

Good for your friend's dad getting out of debt. I understand that can be hard.

And I hope he can help you and you can make a good place for your aunt to help your grandmother.

---

I'm keeping a positive mindset and considering all of this still on. When I'm not at the hospital I will at least be taking measurements for the necessary purchases and plenty of photographs of the tub area and underneath for my friend's dad to see.

I'll bring my tools over for the job, but I'm going to hold off on any demolition right now. I don't want to bring any extra chaos into the situation for the time being.


Hopefully everything is going to be alright. I'm just happy she's where she needs to be right now even if it took a week longer than it should have and it didn't need to come to her being carted away in an ambulance.

I called her at the hospital and said "you didn't think that you being in the hospital was going to keep me from having our nighttime phone conversation, did you?". She seemed in good spirits and was very aware of where she was and why she was there, which really is going to help me sleep tonight.



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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I haven't been talking about it because I didn't want to bring any bad luck on the situation, but my Grams hasn't been doing well for about a week. It would come and go, but she was suffering from shortness of breath and it was sometimes apparent when I'd talk to her on the phone. The first I'd heard about it was the day after I talked to her at night about a week ago and ended the call slightly concerned that she didn't sound like herself. My old man went to play some board games with her like he does about 3-4 days a week the next morning and she looked pale and was complaining about being short of breath. He gave her a ginger ale so she could burp (a fix she's used for years when she has acid reflux) and that actually seemed to help right away. My dad stayed hours later than he usually does and by the time they'd played some games and he left he said she was back to normal.

But it's persisted...

And I've been trying to guilt her kids into getting her to a doctor or the hospital and they just wouldn't do it. Shes' turning 90 next week and I'd just get "well she's old". Yeah. She IS old. But this isn't normal. She was fine, fine, fine, fine, fine and then last week happened. To their defense, she's just as stubborn as I am and would have been outraged if they called for an ambulance unless she was sure she was dying. She doesn't get angry very often at all, but that would have been a step over the line for her. She's also been extremely lazy and not wanting to do anything so I don't think she would have cooperated if they wanted to take her to see somebody (but now we know why).

So... She's in the hospital today. They found something on her lung and water underneath it. They're going to do the same thing they did for my friend's dad and drain it tomorrow morning and run some more tests.

(I'm hoping that you can ease my mind here Sigs and tell me that In might be barking up the right tree by thinking it could have been walking pneumonia. The symptoms match... Not just this last week, but it looks as though it can even have effects on memory too. Her long term memory is fine, but her short term has been going downhill for about a year but damn near fell off a cliff in the last 2 months.)

I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I'm going to see her. I don't know if I'm going to be spending the night in the hospital, but it's close to her house and I can go crash there if the hibby jibbies I get over hospitals gets to be too much. I'm hoping my uncle and his wife who live close by are going to be joining in the shifts too. I don't think my dad is going to make it unless he hears something is going horribly wrong.

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Quote:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
I haven't been talking about it because I didn't want to bring any bad luck on the situation, but my Grams hasn't been doing well for about a week. It would come and go, but she was suffering from shortness of breath and it was sometimes apparent when I'd talk to her on the phone. The first I'd heard about it was the day after I talked to her at night about a week ago and ended the call slightly concerned that she didn't sound like herself. My old man went to play some board games with her like he does about 3-4 days a week the next morning and she looked pale and was complaining about being short of breath. He gave her a ginger ale so she could burp (a fix she's used for years when she has acid reflux) and that actually seemed to help right away. My dad stayed hours later than he usually does and by the time they'd played some games and he left he said she was back to normal.

But it's persisted...

And I've been trying to guilt her kids into getting her to a doctor or the hospital and they just wouldn't do it. Shes' turning 90 next week and I'd just get "well she's old". Yeah. She IS old. But this isn't normal. She was fine, fine, fine, fine, fine and then last week happened. To their defense, she's just as stubborn as I am and would have been outraged if they called for an ambulance unless she was sure she was dying. She doesn't get angry very often at all, but that would have been a step over the line for her. She's also been extremely lazy and not wanting to do anything so I don't think she would have cooperated if they wanted to take her to see somebody (but now we know why).

So... She's in the hospital today. They found something on her lung and water underneath it. They're going to do the same thing they did for my friend's dad and drain it tomorrow morning and run some more tests.

(I'm hoping that you can ease my mind here Sigs and tell me that I might be barking up the right tree by thinking it could have been walking pneumonia. The symptoms match... Not just this last week, but it looks as though it can even have effects on memory too. Her long term memory is fine, but her short term has been going downhill for about a year but damn near fell off a cliff in the last 2 months.)

I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I'm going to see her. I don't know if I'm going to be spending the night in the hospital, but it's close to her house and I can go crash there if the hibby jibbies I get over hospitals gets to be too much. I'm hoping my uncle and his wife who live close by are going to be joining in the shifts too. I don't think my dad is going to make it unless he hears something is going horribly wrong.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:

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Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Probably have to postpone the visit another day. :(

I'm found an episode of a show she remembered from a long time ago on the Tube and downloaded it. I'm also going to bring a few movies she hasn't seen in a long time and we're going to watch them. She doesn't know that yet. It's going to be a surprise.

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Oh, won't that be lovely! I'm sure she'll love the entertainment and the company!

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I told her about that twice today and that I'm not going to watch them without her so she'd better get better!

She seemed real excited about it.

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I'm also going to bring my camera to take some pics of her showerless tub that is leaking everywhere. She hasn't used it in 2 years, and it's getting far to hard to get her to my aunt's place to shower her there, especially in the winter, and because she's just not doing anything anymore. I'm going to get her to get up and walk around and do a few laps around the 1st floor every hour or so the whole time I'm there. I got her an egg timer to remind her to do that... I'm just hoping she remembers to use it when I'm not there.

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Oh, indeed. I have an exercise plan for myself. But it's hard to stay motivated. I need to set an alarm for myself like I have set arlarms for other things ... wake up, get dear daughter up, walk and (later) potty break for the dog, start dinner etc. If I can habituate myself to exercise it'll be easier.

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Yeah. And thank god for your memory. I'm afraid that once I'm not there to get her to do it she'll forget why that timer is there or where it even came from. :(

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My aunt got a quote for just removing the tub and walls and put in a walk in shower base and let's just say that it is completely unaffordable for her.

My friend's dad has paid off his debts to me and he's still battling some health issues of his own,

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How's he doing BTW?

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He sounds great when I talk to him, and the last time I saw him he looked better than I've seen him in a while. They actually took him off the life vest because his "numbers" are looking so good. And that's without any surgery. He's just so skinny now, when he had amazing calf and thigh muscles for a 73 year old not long ago. It's amazing how fast that goes at that age if you're not keeping up with the work and working out.

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but I'm hoping I can get him to come over and give me a quote on what he'd want just to fix the plumbing, pick up materials and help me set the shower base on the fixed drain pipe.

I'm just going to put up vinyl walls and it's going to be a quick and dirty job, but the house is going to be sold as is anyhow and the rest of the bathroom already looks like crap anyhow. I just want my aunt to have a place to bathe my grandma without it being a massive half-a-day chore.

I've also got 3 grab bars that I took when I helped demolition a bathroom a few years ago, so I'm going to install boards behind the new walls so I can screw them down tight and she'll have something that won't budge to hold onto wherever she is in there. We might possibly put a folding bench in the back for her to sit on too, but one that would support her weight is pretty pricey, so I'm just going to put some boards back where it would go so it's always an easy option down the road.

I just hope my friend's dad is up for it. I don't know crap about plumbing and I won't be able to do the job without him, or without my aunt and grandma shelling out a lot of money for a plumber.

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We have the same problems with our bathrooms. Tried contacting a couple of contractors but they never called back. They must be very bsuy!

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Yeah. My aunt called 3 places and only got one place that wasn't booked up. I can't imagine how with the insane prices they charge now.

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Originally posted by Brenda:
She'll love those surprises.

You are a good grandson, SIX. I'm sure she's very proud of you.

Good for your friend's dad getting out of debt. I understand that can be hard.

And I hope he can help you and you can make a good place for your aunt to help your grandmother.

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I'm keeping a positive mindset and considering all of this still on. When I'm not at the hospital I will at least be taking measurements for the necessary purchases and plenty of photographs of the tub area and underneath for my friend's dad to see.

I'll bring my tools over for the job, but I'm going to hold off on any demolition right now. I don't want to bring any extra chaos into the situation for the time being.


Hopefully everything is going to be alright. I'm just happy she's where she needs to be right now even if it took a week longer than it should have and it didn't need to come to her being carted away in an ambulance.

I called her at the hospital and said "you didn't think that you being in the hospital was going to keep me from having our nighttime phone conversation, did you?". She seemed in good spirits and was very aware of where she was and why she was there, which really is going to help me sleep tonight.



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Growing up in a Republic was nice... Shame we couldn't keep it.

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Originally posted by SIGNYM:
I can tolerate mice. We had a wee little field mouse in our kitchen... altho it baffles me where it got in.. so I bought a wee little have-a-heart mousetrap and caught it. And took it a bit away and released it. It was cute!

But I can't stand rats and cockroaches.

Problem with rodents in general (rats, mice, hamsters etc) is that they like to gnaw on electrical wires and internet/phone cables. We had a hamster that got loose and almost fried itself gnawing on our frig power cord. Rats, mice, and Argentinian ants are the bane of server farms everywhere. But I digress...

I hope management knows about the mouse problem. They can gnaw on electrical wire and phone/ internet lines
the walls (if it's not sheathed in metal conduit) and cause all kinds of expensive problems. So it's not just a matter of cleanliness. Since mice and rats can live inside of walks and between floors I think this needs to be tackled building-wide.

https://www.whiteselectrical.com/blog-post/wires-rats-mice-chewing-pro
blem/

https://www.cablinginstall.com/home/article/16468179/rodent-damage-to-
cables

Congrats on the mah jong win!

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Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE someone poor - William Blake

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