Tilt-a-whirl

Ok, Children...Scram.

It is a good thing that the convalescent hospital is only about 12 minutes from here (remarkable, considering where we live) because every time I go to visit The Queen, she seems happy to see us and then tells us to Scram, 5 minutes later. I am trying to figure it out but she no longer asks to get out of there. I guess that it is the very nice lady in the next bed who has made it all bearable. I dunno. We went in before lunchtime yesterday, with me hoping to get back here in time to put in an afternoon in the frigid garage. Not so fast, my friend...no mama in the bed. We tried to track her down but decided to head down to InNOut for lunch (yes, Placerville has one of THOSE) before trying  AGAIN. Sure enough, she was back in her room, this time actually eating sitting up in a wheel chair! Turns out that she had been lucky enough to be seen by the visiting podiatrist who was kind enough to cut her foot claws, a task that we attempted but were not able to complete without the right tools. He did an awesome job and mom's roommate was probably sad that she got her hair done instead of her toes, the way that she was "butting in".

So, bottom line is that mom has been diagnosed with COPD, which is usually a disease of smokers (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). When I read the symptoms on good old Web MD I said...oh, NOW it is obvious. Those of you who know me personally had probably heard about how mom sang as a chorus member at the SF Opera for over 25 years. She always complained of sinus headaches and probably for the past 30+ years she has had just constant sinus and bronchial problems, for which she refused to see anyone. For as long as I can remember, mom talked about Scenery Dust making every costume dirty and how it got into everything. Scenery dust is PAINT dust. Now it is as though she had been a miner. You open your lungs to breathe deeply to have a powerful voice and in goes all of that C R A P. Believe me, when I was a singer I worked in clubs BEFORE the ban on smoking and I always felt like I had had a lung full of that stuff every night. So, there you have it...she has had shortness of breath and constant mucous and a very tough time, which has escalated in the past 5 years. Now that she is on oxygen, she is making sense and is no longer talking gibberish. Interesting, eh?

Now, on to happy things. We woke up to a light dusting of snow yesterday, which I adore because of how it makes the bare oak and maple branches into these magical black and white pieces of art. It is like supreme eye candy to me. We were surprised at that point to hear people in the driveway when we finally went into the living room yesterday. Rod hollers...there are two trucks of CARPENTERS outside. They missed the dry days and decided to come today! I immediately thought...the news said that both highways 50 and 80 were closed and so magically, snow or no snow, our number was suddenly in play. (They have been working on projects for the poor folks who got burned out in the South Lake Tahoe area.) One day...ONE DAY gave us this scene. The only thing left is the west wall of my studio and the garage door wall, to complete things enough for the truss guy to climb the hill with the truck and the boom.

Four guys. The other walls are constructed but just lying down, waiting to be put into place. It was MORE than exciting to walk the pad last night with Rod and Tank. I kept thinking that the studio space was going to be small but being able to stand in the "reception" area with its two windows that are like windows on our house and then move into the whole workshop area to see the four windows that look out through the trees to the road, I could envision how big it will be and how we can move all of the work stuff out of the house and current garage and make this space REAL. I have been doing this stuff for 25 years in whatever space I could scratch out of the old house and garage. When I dyed for a certain nameless foo foo yarn store, the guy came to the house and was incredulous that I could do what I do where I was doing it. Uh huh... Where I am working now is lovely with windows and all of what I need around me BUT it is in the garage, which is unheated and pretty much 40 degrees all day. Mainly, though...it is the garage with all of Rod's C R A P and the remainder of mom's stuff that was not in storage. When I have a designated space (cue the harp music) I can have everything as organized as it is in the current space, which is WAY WAY WAY better than where I was working for all of those years in Lafayette, and the big machinery can finally be out of the house. Now, if the carpenters will just show up this morning to finish the last walls, I will be so very thankful. :o) You see, there is another Snow Maker on the way. I thought for sure that we were going to get some last night because of what was so peachy and beautiful last evening. We are in for something, for sure and perhaps the guys won't want to get snowed in at Tahoe...one can only hope. Here is what I saw yesterday afternoon. Time to breakfast and get out to the Freezingasscold garage so that I can have the afternoon to spin. Stitches West is upon me!

The Tattletale and further adventures

Gosh, was it really Thursday? Yeah, I guess so. We go in to visit The Diva in the skilled nursing center and she has a dress laid out on her bed, as well as towels, which means to ME that there is a shower afoot and perhaps some time on The Queen's Feet. I mention as much and she tells Rod to put the dress away, in her closet. Okkkkkk. I asked her if she was going to have a shower and she says, Just Do As I Say. Oh, alright... Then I ask how her walking is coming along because she wants to know when we are going to get her out of there. Sure, says she...walking.

A little voice pipes up from the other side of the curtain...She refused to walk. Your mother is not a nice person and is being mean to me. I look around the curtain at her middle aged roommate and look back at mom. She rolls her eyes. I just tell her that she has to do the work and the usual blather. She tells us to leave and leave we do...less than 10 minutes into the visit.

I decide at that moment that it is time for me to just GO to make an appointment for my Christmas Present, a makeover. Oh, says the woman, after I make an appointment for Monday...what about today? Laura is free this afternoon and we could see you at noon! Gulp!, well...hell, why not? We drove home and had lunch and then off I went to get transformed. It was a lovely afternoon at Bella Cappelli and when I emerged, I felt like I needed a scarf. :o) Now...can I just keep up the style the way that Laura sculpted it? After my first shampoo and self style, I now know that my "stick straight hair" needs more stuff sprayed in it to hold a scooby dooby do. I'll do better tomorrow and know that I just need to have more ME time to play. The best thing is that the hairdo looks GREAT with Tom's hats. :o)

It was really shocking when the first 5 inches or so off of the back hit the floor but I just decided to go with it and perhaps next time will be a little MORE but if I don't have the proper hair to hold "Edgy" then I will just have to have a great hat hairdo. :o)

I got back home and got a phone call from Placerville Pines. Ummm, says the woman on the other end of the line, would it be alright if we moved your mother? It seems that she and her roommate are squabbling. (duh) Oh, ok...sure. I now know that the roommate, with her nest of books and pictures and clothes and stuffed animals asked for my mother to be moved because she was being MEAN to her. (Yeah, mom loves privacy and to be The Queen and this 50 something woman wanted to know and comment on mom's business. BAD IDEA!) I get a subsequent telephone call and the woman says that they are going to move The Tattletale instead...yes, they uprooted the woman and all of her stuff and swapped a nice quiet 82 year old in there. If the lady does not get up in my mom's grill, there will be peace all around. There is peace, alright...mom was sleeping when we arrived and never knew that we were there. Sweet.

Boot Camp and shoutouts

Yes, this is what the Kaiser supervising nurse called what mom is in now. Boot Camp. I was jumping for joy.

The back story is that yesterday I had the threat of We Are Turning Off The Water from Scott the Backhoe guy. Before Rod left here to drive down to MacWorld he helped me fill buckets and pans and everything with water so that I could get some darned WORK done. (wouldn't THAT be a novel idea!) I threw myself into work as soon as the house was my own but no sooner did I get going than the Satellite repair people show up to do some work. Take off the shoes and the apron and go inside. DONE. I turn the iPod back on and get back into my book and just GO. It felt like a Lafayette dye day...almost normal. Yes, winter dyeing down there was brutal, too...that garage had NO insulation. I work in a 40 degree environment with a heavy fleece and an angora Pussycap so once I start moving, I feel no pain. (any wonder why I am jonesing for an insulated studio with air and heat??? still really a garage but not a garage, if you know what I mean)

I got through a short water stoppage but Scott decided that he was not going to play plumber and told me that he turned it back on. Thank YEW! On I go, creating and shouting at the words that Humphrey Bowers is reading about Gallipoli and the charge of the Light Horse. Noon rolls around and it is time to take off the heavy shop apron, shoes and cap and take a break for lunch. I figured that this would be a really good time to go down and check in on The Puppy.

This is where it all gets interesting for me. I walk in and she is sitting up in bed, powering down her lunch, smacking her lips about food that she would have turned down at home, telling me that it is very good. (from behind the curtain, the Peanut Gallery gets right into the conversation as if I am her visitor...) Great mom, I am so glad to see you eating so well. Have you had therapy yet? No, says she...I don't feel like it today. I just couldn't possibly. Hmmm, well...ok but this is going to delay your release. Crickets. I am thinking to myself...ok lady, you are trying to work me like a two year old. Kaiser reps come in and check on her and she just keeps eating while I talk to them. Ok mom, I brought your nail clippers and I am going to cut those claws. She presents her hands like The Queen. Why do I do this to myself...whatanidiot. Ok, I have to get back to work. When are you coming back, says she...tomorrow. I told you that because you are close to home, I will visit each day.

I come home and got ready to resume work and the phone rings. It is the supervising nurse, Dan. He shows up on Tuesdays and checks on the health of the Kaiser people. I tell him that she was refusing to get up and he says...hmmm, well, she got up and there is no choice around here. It is like boot camp. I was high five-ing my shadow, saying to myself...YEAH, keep her there, the brat. She has turned into a 5 year old and I am her mean mommy and she is not going to do squat (eat right or exercise) for mommy. The nice hospital people who feed her the same nutritious foods that I tried to serve to her and force her to move are folks that she will listen to. OY.

Lessons, people. I am in school every day.

I keep forgetting! I get lovely emails all of the time from those of you who are creating things with  what I try to do when I actually have a moment to myself. Ann wrote with a link to a beautiful shawl that she created from her hand spun merino in South Pacific. Check it out here . Beautiful work!

Theresa did some beautiful spinning as well. Check out her socks on her blog .

Lois Errante is a fabulous knitter and came into my life as a package with her wonderful and equally talented sister, Phyllis. (I credit Phyllis with dragging me down to meet this woman at the King's Mt Art Show who made the most beautiful glass buttons...hmmm could it be Sheila??? ) I digress. Anyway, if Lois could not come to a show, Phyllis would be checking for things for her sister, the more colorful the better. If you live in Marin County or are visiting the area, stop in at the Larkspur Library because Lois has a wonderful display of her creations there for the world to see. She sent on some photos and I am going to give you a preview of what you will see. This should give some of you inspiration and a clear picture that it is cool to collect yarn because you can turn it into beautiful works of art when it finally jumps up and down enough to be chosen from your collection. Brava, Lois, brava. Photo courtesy of Lois Errante and Jerry Downs.

The latest and My second daughter, the Photographer

And so we wait. We visited Kaiser last evening, after getting a call that Mom was going to be moved to a convalescent hospital very soon. Alright, please make it in Placerville, will ya? I'm trying to still have a life, here. She was in a private room and we now know, having seen the notice on the door, that this was because she has germs that could kill some OTHER poor soul. Ummm...duh! So, they are going to move her. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. She was gotten up and evaluated by the PT person yesterday and seems to be ready to go to the next phase of recovery. All that I know is that she downed the hospital slop like a champ last night, much to my surprise. When I tried to serve her soup or veggies or something other than carbs, I got... Soup? YUCK. I'll give you, Soup YUCK. :o)

I am still hammering it home to her, albeit with a blow-up mallet, that she is going to have to do the work to get well enough to come home, let alone move into the little house. I guess that by eating the slop, she is beginning to do her part. Thanks for all of the pep talks from those of you that have walked this path already. We did not have my MIL home with us, ever. This was because we had a teensy weensy house in Lafayette AND there would have been a mass murder/suicide if I had really brought her home with us. Rod kept telling me NO, she will be the death of us. Glad that I listened...she lived in assisted living, in and out of the hospital, convalescent hospital and then  what they call Board and Care, here in California. The old style Rest Home where you have 6 patients and full time caregivers. We'll see what happens around here...

Now, on to lovely things. Our Christmas holiday was mighty sweet this year, with all of the generations here together. Of course I was too wrapped up in the moments to pick up a camera. I do not know what my problem is but I guess that when things are happening, I just don't think about it. Thank goodness we have a pro in the family! Vicki carries hers everywhere and because of that, we did not have to just remember the moments in the folds of our grey matter.

Vicki and our son, Erik have been living in Connecticut since a few months after their wedding and  while we got to see them last year at this time, when Rod's mom left the building, we did not have much time for them to spend with The Schnickle. This year, thanks to the new home, we got to have plenty of room for people to relax and get to hang out, without sitting on top of one another.

On the 23rd we all got together and drove into Placerville to do some window shopping, have a bite and enjoy the thrill of a first Stage Coach ride. (yesterday, the little guy pointed to a John Wayne Stagecoach cookie jar in the window of the the Placerville Hardware store and said...STAGECOACH! I think it sunk in.) Here he is with Rod, watching as the stagecoach rounded the corner on the other side of the street.

It was really hard for him to concentrate with fire engines and motorcycles and stagecoaches going by outside of Mel's but he had a quiet moment "reading" the menu at our first family meal in forever. Lunch came for him, nestled in a paper Corvette. :o)

After lunch came the stroll on the south side of Main Street, which is the side with the TOY STORE!

The afternoon culminated with the ride for which he had been tightly clutching the wooden token that the Wild West man handed to him through the window of the car. Oh man...a ride on a real stagecoach with daddy and uncle Erik. Perfect.

On Christmas Eve, we headed down to Folsom to play games and have tamales but as the day wore on, The Schickle got sicker and sicker, seeking some comfort on Daddy. We put him to bed and worried that he would be too sick to have Christmas but the little trouper knew that there was no place for bed rest when Santa had made a visit.

He was bundled up in his PJ's and began to have a wonderful time bonding with Uncle Erik. Before Christmas dinner, Lauren and Erik got to be kids again, taking Rod's "vehicle for hauling the garbage cans and logs around" out for a spin on the other side of the creek and up the hill. I just got the biggest kick out of seeing brother and sister having a moment of fun again. Priceless.

Thank you Vicki! Remember folks, if you live in the Connecticut or New York area, my fabulous new daughter is great for chronicling the passage of time for your youngster and OF COURSE for weddings. You had better book her time now because she is doing great work and won't be "a steal" much longer. Commercial over. :o)

The power of prayer and a stubborn spirit

Ah, so I left you hanging on the day that I was pacing like a caged animal. I got down to the hospital later that day, to find mom in a little bit better shape than I had seen her the night before. She had color in her face and was actually warm in her extremities. (I teased her today that if she wanted the house as warm as the hospital, the propane bill would be 1k for the month.) She was a little bit more coherent and knew who we were, although she was ready for us to get the heck out within about 10 minutes, after the 70 minute drive to Sacramento. Niiiiiiice.

She has pneumonia again, BIG TIME. This time they have her on two different antibiotics and are keeping a saline drip going constantly, to flush the cells from her muscle injury through her kidneys but not fast enough to build the fluid in her lungs. It is a fine line of tweaking and adjusting.

Today, we went down again after getting to spend a day here WORKING and man what a difference. She pipes up as soon as she sees us...Oh, are you here to take me HOME??? Uh...not so fast, my friend, you have been a mighty sick puppy and avoided The Other Side by sheer will and timing. I got to talk to her doctor, who was talking about what a serious infection she has had and I suspect that she never really recovered from October's pneumonia...you know, the one that I faced from the market floor of Stitches EAST. They tossed her out of the hospital within two days, last time and I truly believe that it was because I was not in the faces of the hospital staff, the way that I am now. NOW, I am asking about a convalescent hospital and all that comes with it. I have told Mom in no uncertain terms that she must WORK to come home and must be able to walk to the bathroom and to the kitchen for us to be able to make this happen. It should be an incentive to go  to a rehab place and do the work required to get home. If she is as lazy and unwilling to participate, it will be her choice and I will have professional help to take care of her.

I thank all of you that have written. As I said in my comment on the last post, you brought tears to my eyes on a scary day. I am a LOT better, thanks to the outpouring of good wishes and energy that you are sending to me and mom. With her in the hospital and under such great care, I can finally rest at night, not having to worry about the little voice coming from down the hall...Leesy, I have fallen and can't get up. OY! The woman possesses a great spirit and has been called a Crone, which means that she has great power. I am taking back my power at the moment, knowing that it has been necessary to stand up and tell her that she must win the right to come home and live in the house and then in the place that we are building for her. That may sound harsh but it is a truth that I have to face. I know that I have done my best for her and as much or more than she did for my difficult grandmother. She told us today that she did not know what she would have done without us and so I know that she knows we did what was necessary for a very ill woman, by calling the paramedics. No arguments. She was surprised when I told her what transpired beginning Sunday afternoon. We did the right thing.

Tomorrow the driveway will be filled once again with those trucks pictured in the earlier post. It is the day that the concrete slab is being poured for the Little House and my studio. We are looking at some clear weather, which means that the framers can begin very soon so that the canyon will be echoing with the sounds of hammers. Yes, we are moving forward, no matter what.

I know that one day, I will be able to look back on these times with great pride of accomplishment. It is kind of like childbirth in reverse, helping the last of the parents to the edge of the pool. I am just grateful now for the respite and I find great solace in going into mom's sitting room, letting her big Maine Coon climb into my lap for some noisy purring and heavy petting. :o)

Somehow, I will get through this...

I started to tell a long and exhausting tale of how and why my mother is now in the hospital, fighting or not fighting for her life. It suddenly hit me that I am beyond exhausted from a long long day in the ER with a woman who is sick as can be. She was picked up by ambulance early yesterday morning, taken to the wonderful Marshall Hospital, here in Placerville and then after waiting and waiting for Kaiser to decide that they could take her, she was finally transported to the same hospital that treated her for pneumonia.

She had three falls within a 24 hour period, with the third one being caught by me so that she could not hurt herself. This was the point where I told Rod to call 911, that we were through listening to mom and having to take action. The paramedic said that we did the right thing and I can only tell you that when they arrived, I shed a few tears that only come when the Big Help arrives to take the world off of your shoulders.

She probably has pneumonia, a urinary tract infection and the Kaiser nurse blithely told me that her muscles are breaking down from the falls and they are worried more about her kidneys being flooded with cells that will shut the works down. I got a call at 2:30 in the morning, which is usually THE call...the magical time of night when people leave. No, it was the doctor quizzing me about what had been happening and then how much heroics I wanted to allow. Mom wants NO heroics. It would be somewhat easier for me to say, sure...plug her in and let it ride but this is not what she wants, I know it and have heard it.
I looked up to the clear sky last night, after getting a message from PG&E saying that someone had run into a power pole and that our lights would be out until Friday. It was too much...there was Mars, twinkling in the manner of a ruby, having his way with all of us. I had to pray and cross my fingers the whole way home. Please please please let our lights be on...they were. This day at Marshall Hospital reminded me yet again why it is that we were drawn to Placerville. It is filled with wonderful caring people who went out of their way to make sure that I was ok while waiting for mom. They were worried that I had not eaten and pushed to make sure that Rod found that medical Power of Attorney soon, so that they would not have to put in a breathing tube. This would not be happening at Kaiser in Sacramento, my friend. I'm sorry that mom has to be back down there but I need them to see to her now. I am just pacing today. I must get orders ready for the mail and I must get back to those of you kind enough to place more orders. I am here alone and although there is the noise of the construction across the driveway, I feel just plain fidgety. Yes, I will put on my favorite music, Sheila. I need to feel better while I wait.

Enough, already!

Well, the weatherman was not kidding. We had quite the blow, tons of rain, followed by big wet blops of snow, all within a three day period. I would not have minded it in the least except for the power outages that really kicked our butts. It is one thing to be independent and able to get in a car to go somewhere when your lights go out but with You Know Who AKA She Who Does Not Go Outside in the house, there is not much I could do but bid Rod goodbye and good hunting for every non electric light-up thingie known to man. If I hear say heh heh heh and mmmhmmm one more time (she does it unconsciously), I may climb the access road to the home of the neighbor that we finally met today and ask him to blow my brain out. Well...theoretically, anyway. :o) I have had a hot bath and feel a little less desperate. Lights are on, heat is on, water is on and the INTERNET is on. Whoopeeeeeeee!

Turns out that this neighbor that we met this morning is the guy who gave permission to pave the portion of the road that we travel to get up here. He is a character and after retiring from the Air Force became a full time gold miner. He knows the creeks really well up here and was able to tell us that the one that is roaring through the middle of the property is called Weaver Creek. Perfect for a fiber artist family, dontcha think? He figures that we can probably have fun looking for gold in it after this whole storm stuff stops for awhile. It will be fun for Rod and Schnickle to play at panning for gold. The lovely thing about having no water or electricity is that I have been forced to slow down and smell the cashmere. Yes, that and read a book. Lauren gave her dad a headlamp for Christmas and boy oh boy did it come in super handy the past couple of nights when it was time to fire up the stove or read or spin. Let's just say that if you don't HAVE one and live anywhere the power goes out...I would highly suggest getting one. Hands free light, where ever you turn your noggin.

Now then, I finally caught a couple of snaps of my buddies. They have gone from drab to almost in mating season shape (still working on the head color) since we moved here. They travel in quite the troupe, our turkey friends. Now I just open the door and cluck to them, like they were my chickens and they just tolerate me. They drive Tank to a barking frenzy...

It's not sea level anymore, Dorothy

Better, yes I am better. Still coughing like sea lion but after this Lay Lisa Flat Virus, being upright and working is GOOD!

We did have the most wonderful few days over the holidays. We spent the  23rd together with the two young couples and Scnickle, enjoying the heck out of the beautiful day in old town Placerville, which was culminated with a ride for the little guy, daddy and uncle on the beautifully refurbished stagecoach that sauntered through town and then Hauled Ass along Stagecoach Alley. The wonderful docent drivers made Main Street a magical place.
Monday evening was spent sampling our son-in-law's tradition of Tamales on Christmas Eve, with killer games of Parcheesi, played tag-team style. Poor little Schnickle got pretty sick that night and by the time we left to head home, he was put to bed with a fever. (of course Rod and I got ourselves thoroughly saturated with kid germs that night.)

Christmas morning was lovely, with the little family driving up to Placerville and the whole clan hunkering down for a day of reminiscing, oohing and ahhing over gifts and old traditional stocking stuffers. The day was relaxed and ever so sweet although mom was determined to sit on the periphery, just listening to the family shenanigans while staying safely in the kitchen. I have to admit that I got a little sad when she declined the invitation to the dining room table for the feast but realize that just sitting out with all of the people around was a lot for her and so she and her new friend, my favorite teddy bear, hung out together, happily until dinner was finished. We heard the Clunk Clunk of her taking of the brakes of her walker and off she went to bed.

The day that Erik and Vicki drove down to The City for visits with their friends and old haunts was when The Virus hit. I went to bed early with chills and a headache. During one of the times of surfacing from sleep, Rod crept in to see if I was awake. Delighted that I was, he went out the bedroom door to trip the security lights, pulled up the shade on the window and let me witness our first snowfall from the comfort of my sickbed. Whatta guy. Yeah, this is me, up from the bed the next morning. Nothing could have kept me from crunching around in it cuz, you see...I was born and raised at just about sea level on the California coast and this is COOL! Those of you that see it all of the time can laugh but a dusting such as this just made this place magical.

We crossed our fingers all of the way down the steep drive to the road and were rewarded with this.

See those magnificent pines, cedar and fir? It is a dream come true. Yup, for gobsmacked Rod, as well! It's all gone now and that is fine.

We are battening down the hatches for the Big Storm that is heading our way and because there were a couple of days without drama, the subs showed up in earnest yesterday. Too bad that Schnickle was not here to have his Grampy carry him around all day because it was a day of BIG TRUCKS!

At about 7:30, Guy The Foreman came rolling up the hill, followed soon after by the concrete workers who worked to build the foundation forms before all of the holiday and storm shenanigans began. Cool, they finally came back. Rod rushes in while I was on the phone, making the motions of someone pouring something. HUNH? WHUT?

He had to TELL me that it was POUR DAY. Oh, wow...already?

10 am and this guy rolled up the hill...

Next thing we knew, the first of seven of THESE arrived. Once the concrete started to flow, it was a real dance. The sweet but odd pumper guy worked his magic by hauling the Anaconda of Goop around on his back, squirting and aiming all 7 truckloads of concrete into the allotted spots. It was hard to get Rod in to eat lunch while ANY of this was going on because it was so fascinating. Fun for the whole family.