The Mandelbear's Musings

I really ought to update more often, oughtn't I?

Well, the news from this month is that my health insurance stopped paying for Colleen's nursing home after 10 weeks; we moved her to a much less expensive (~$4K/month, vs. 400/day) place nearby. I also bought her a power wheelchair off Craigslist.

She moved the weekend my Mom came out from N. Carolina (by way of my brother's place in Logan, Utah), and the weekend that Naomi's massage school graduation took place. I rented a wheelchair van for the weekend. It proved to be something of an adventure -- nasty, uncomfortable things. Though not in the full hobbit sense of also making one late for dinner; things worked out pretty well in that respect.

... so Colleen actually got to come home last weekend! Not to stay, of course :P -- she still can't put full weight on the broken ankle. But it was a good visit. And she made it to N's graduation. And it was good.

... and this last week I finally got after the IRS about my tax refund that they've been sitting on, and set the wheels in motion to get $10K out of my IRA in the mean time. Next week I may finally get almost sort of caught up on bill-paying. Sort of. For a little while.

0802 Fr
  * up 6:35; W=202.6; d
  * Colleen may be able to live at home, in the Rainbow Room, while she gets back on her
    feet.  Worth a try, anyway.  We'll need a commode, of course.

0803 Sa
  * up 7:40; W=204; d; shower
  @ Creator of xkcd Reveals Secret Backstory of His Epic 3,099-Panel Comic
  * weekend project: install medicine cabinet.  With help from (YD)Emmy
  $ YD estimates that this quarter at school will cost $3500.  We'll pay in installments.
    She also needs a new computer.  I'm thinking a touchscreen Acer like Kat's.
  @ 'We're 31 years apart but the perfect match!' Cougar and her toyboy husband, 27, open
    up about their shared passion for Civil War role-play | Mail Online 
  @ s4s: "Vivaldi Tribute" (Patrick Rondat) Tina S cover - YouTube WOW!
  * bought the YD a new computer for school.  Acer; i3, 15.6", 750GB, 6GB.  Office Max
    Looked at Costco, but they no longer had the one Kat got.  (Much the same only with
    twice the RAM was $800 instead of $450)
  * Found an Invacare Electric Wheelchair Pronto M51 power chair on Craigslist for $600

0804 Su
  * up 6:30ish; W=204; d, n; shower
  @ BBC News - Space station used for Ardbeg distillery experiments (West Seattle Blog)
  @ Liz Ryan: Reinvention and Relationships, or, Not Everyone Wants You to Change 
  * pick up Chaos 10ish
  ~ pick up power chair 11am -> needs some work; he'll bring it Tuesday.  But it's a good
    chair.  I also got a manual wheelchair that turned out to be too narrow; what we
    really need is a transport chair.  Maybe.
  * Set up J's computer.  It's a Thinkpad R51; incredibly slow by today's standards.

0805 Mo
  * up 6:15; W=204; d, n
  * visited Colleen -- it doesn't look like she can come home.  They've found a group home
    that will be $4-6K.
  % long talk with N about self-care and stress. 

0806 Tu
  @ up 5:30; W=203; d, n
  : Couldn't find Curio - hadn't seen him since Monday evening - but he turned up near the
    head of the basement stairs (on the main floor) -- I suspect he was in the Rainbow
    Room. 
  * Night Out block party.  Fun!  Met the neighbors.

0807 We
  * up 6:45; W=202.4; d, n
  @ Foods that contain or release histamine
  * Took Colleen her power chair.  Last time I try that without a proper ramp, but I got
    away with it this time.  She loves it.

0808 Th
  * up 6:35; W=204.2; d, n
  * Mom's flight info:
	  AIR   SOUTHWEST AIRLINES   FLT:3928   ECONOMY
		LV SALT LAKE CITY               1150A
		DEPART: TERMINAL UNIT 1                        02HR 05MIN
		AR SEATTLE TACOMA               1255P          NON-STOP
  * Left work at 3pm; arrived home 3:30.  Mom arrived ~4:30, having spent the interim at
    Mark's.
  * Omlettes for dinner, followed by a trip to visit Colleen.  Last time at Park West.

0809 Fr
  * up 5:30; W=202.6; d; shower 
  % quiet morning with Mom.  Should make shopping list.
  * 11am Colleen moving
  @ More on Persona
  * 3pm van arriving
  & too narrow a ramp for the 24" manual wheelchair, so used the power chair.  Worked
    pretty well, though Colleen is still scared of it.  With some reason.
  * 4:15 Cortiva graduation
  * Dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse with Tom Whitmore and his partner Karen.  Yum!

0810 Sa
  * up 7:45; W=200.4; d, n; shower
  : Mom brought an iPad with a Logitek keyboard, in lieu of a laptop.  Seems to work well
    for what she needs it for.  An android version would probably work for me, too.  Or a
    chromebook. 
  * Dinner at Seattle Fish Company in the Junction.  Yum.
  * Re-jiggered Colleen's scooter to move the CG backward.  Probably failed; I think I
    may have moved it the wrong way.  We'll see.  Next time I need my socket wrenches.

0811 Su
  * up 6:30; W=200.4; d, n
  * pick up Kat, go out to brunch at Flo-Ana's with her, Mom, Emmy
    Horrendous traffic jam in Bothell due to road work, and 405 blocked at Bellevue
  * visit Colleen, go shopping
  * Take Colleen home.  Slightly harrowing with the chair still unbalanced.
  * Jhenya and Mark (with daughter Katy) visited for a light dinner, which Chaos and Emmy
    put together.  Wine (Mom's idea), cheese, salmon tea sandwiches.
  * Took Kat home, with Mom along so she could meet James.

0812 Mo
  * up 6:15; W=199.8 :); d, n, t
  * leave 8ish for airport.
  * Mom's flight info.  11:45, so leave ~9am
	  AIR   AMERICAN AIRLINES    FLT:1628   ECONOMY        FOOD FOR PURCHASE
		LV SEATTLE TACOMA               1145A	       04HR 05MIN
		AR CHICAGO OHARE                550P           NON-STOP
	  AIR   AMERICAN AIRLINES    FLT:1960   ECONOMY
		LV CHICAGO OHARE                705P           01HR 55MIN
		AR RALEIGH DURHAM               1000P          NON-STOP
  : New sink is in.  It's wonderful.  Huge!
  * Got Colleen's chair seat repositioned.  Arduous, because although I had gotten sockets
    I cleverly neglected to pick up a ratchet handle to go with them.  Couldn't do the
    footrest as a result; that *really* needs both a socket wrench and an allen wrench.

0813 Tu
  * up 6:30; ; d, n 

0814 We
  * up 6:13; W=200; d, n
  @ Death in the Office | Jilara's Wanderings
  * After about 5 calls and an hour on hold I finally got through to the IRS, who pointed
    me at the Taxpayer's Advocate, which was only one call and an hour on hold, and was
    actually helpful.  I now have a case number, at least.
  * got the rent check deposited, and the phone number of Union Bank's brokerage people.
    Which is not on their website.

0815 Th
  * up 6:20; W=200.6; d, n
  * Called UB investments and asked for $10K from my IRA; I have to send in a form, and
    won't get the money until next week.  Do Not Like.
  : One of the cats tipped a glass of water onto N's computer.  The people who used to
    believe cats were in league with the Devil may have had a point.

0816 Fr
  & not recorded.  Eeep!
  * to Union Bank to file form for distribution from IRA.
  & stopped off at Office Depot; found Acer BT keyboard designed for their Windows 8
    tablet.  Major win.  PgUp, PgDown keys right where they are on the netbook.  Groove
    for tablet.  Recess on the back for tablet, which of course doesn't fit mine.
  * Got letter from Taxpayer Advocate with my case number and contact name.
  * Bought ratchet; lowered Colleen's footrest.
  * Colleen asked for 3 blouses.  I had to dig for them, so I brought her
    Three Mined Blice.  She completely ignored the pun when I told her.