IntrinsicTina

♫ Ten, ten, ten, ten, let's sing a song of ten. How many is ten? ♫ Like, literally, millions of kids, I grew up watching  Sesame Street and The Electric Company. I watched those programs well into my teens since I was the eldest of four kids. Longer if you factor in seven year gap between the middle children. Of course, I introduced my daughter to my old pals. Is it any wonder that I naturally think of ditties when I hear numerals from one through ten!? Anyway, this is the next verse of Tina's Twelve Days of Christmas...  ♫♫On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...Ten Snowman bright lights, nine Fran's dark chocolates, eight Christmas crackers, seven cotton candies, six bags of kisses, five red heart ornaments, four rein-dogs poopin', three chocolate Santas, two red poinsettias, and a glass pickle to hang in the tree. ♫♫  We are getting ever nearer to the end of the song. Wonder what that husband of mine, has planned for the finale? 

Pleased to report a good save and measurably improved response to suctioning needs. As usual, adult diaper change spurred secretion movement; I was surprised when the patient care technician (PCT) Calmly asked me if I needed suctioning. Upon my ascent, she told the other PCT to pull the emergency cord, and turned on the suction machine. She even did a decent job removing most of the secretions. The charge nurse promptly responded to the call, backing up and taking control of the suction wand.  If I may, my only critique is that this particular nurse is the only critical thinker who considered gravity when suctioning. I was rolled onto my left side, thus the secretions were pooled in my left cheek, not the back of my throat.

I'm so fortunate! My daughter loves me. What's the big deal? It could very easily have gone the other way. And I dare not forget it. True, I made certain she had good foods, plenty of rest, dressed adorably, and got lots of hugs and kisses. For her birthdays, I learned to decorate cakes and made an amazing Minnie Mouse cake, as well as a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cake when they were all the rage. Halloween, I sewed her costumes, beginning with a bunny costume I modified from a Cabbage Patch Kid's pattern. Next, came a voluminous sweet clown costume from fuschia pink, royal purple, and sky blue satin fabrics. That one was sized so abundantly and was so beloved that she wore it a few years until the witch costume. Yeah, I made that one, too. We checked out stacks of books from the library and cuddled up to read them in our overstuffed recliner. I taught her the fine art of armpit farts, in front of the mirror one hot summer day. We bowled together on a league. I jump...

I said it before and I'll say it again, I Have more fun with my daughter even when we do, not much. I never left my room, and yet, we covered a lot of ground. She transferred photos into my photo frames (a project backburnered for a month), ordered my eyeglasses online (backburnered 3 months), and sent out a customized Facebook campaign notice for the upcoming ALS Walk for a Cure. All while we visited and enjoyed each others company. Anyway, I enjoyed her company while I got to hear her stories of her life with her boyfriend and my grand dog. Apparently, my grand dog rides on their paddle boards and goes crazy barking whenever faced with sea lions and much to their horror, he jumps into the bay to attack. He's oblivious to his disadvantage with his diminutive size. They could gobble him down quick. Yeah,  I still have a grand dog, no grandchild, yet. .Also, good news!  My sister, Dawn, the one I keep at arms length, has a second chance at family life. Her daughter that she...

My daughter's visiting from out of state, again. You know I'm happy!! She is my happy pill. I get more energetic. My days and my nights get sorted out. Everything's just better when she's in town to see me. This visit she and I spent all Saturday watching home movies that my husband had transferred from from VHS-c to DVD. Afterward, we watched the Seattle Cossack's DVD. This copy was purchased in Sturgis at the 75th anniversary of the Black Hills Rally.I have been memorialized forever as a groupie of the Harley Davidson motorcycle trick riding team along with my girlfriend, Rita Cook. I can live with that. Additionally, we watched me skydiving. At 30 years old, I was facing divorce and life as I'd known it. I had met a paramedic who told me of the exhilaration of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. One day, I awoke with skydiving on my brain. I drove over to the airfield and signed up to jump that day. I also paid for the video package, which gave us som...

"We are going to know a new freedom..."  ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS P. 83 I used to look forward to getting off work so I could go drink. I would sit on a barstool talking to other patrons about things I used to do and things I was going to do. Funny thing though, the more I drank, the less I did. When I wasn't drinking, I was thinking about drinking but I would never have admitted it. Recently divorced, I made a geographic from California to Washington state. The courts decided on joint custody and since I chose to leave the state, I got visitation. When my daughter visited it freaked me out. I felt like such a failure as a mother, losing a marriage and a beautiful home. Living with my parents at 30. I was such a loser! Guilt, shame, and remorse was my constant companion though I kept it cloaked with false bravado. I would plan to spend every waking moment with her but I would get a case of nerves and I'd have to go fortify my courage and ego. Invariably, I got overwhe...

Today is my birthdate. Does anybody know?  Apparently not my "friends" and caregivers at the home. For all of the "I love you"s that get readily voiced around here, I do not feel the love. Famous last words. About the time I printed those ungrateful, selfish, and self-centered words, I get flowers delivered from  ProFlowers.Com, which is my daughter's m. O. They were gorgeous roses of white, peach, and dual pink interspersed with sweet-smelling purple stock.  The bouquet was a glorious first clue of how my day would go. (sigh) When will I learn to be grateful in All things?

Tina snuggling her beloved ALS afghan. Got a great idea to weed out my yarn stash.  I was an avid knitter and crocheter, as well as a budding spinner and novice designer, and have accumulated a nice stash of specialty yarns over the years.  Since getting limb-onset ALS, I lack the fine motor skills to participate in this beloved hobby/therapy.  I know I can gather it all up and take  it to any senior center but I LOVE these fibers and each skein and ball has a story behind it and I want to be the one to decide who gets each gorgeous piece.  Most will go to my daughter who followed in my footsteps and knits and crochets beautifully.  Check out the lap afghan she knitted for me in ALS colors last Christmas! (Regrettably, no, I did not teach her.) Jennifer crochets first blanket - 2006 Through the years crocheting bonded me to my grandmother and knitting bonded me to my mother as each had their specialty.  I crocheted to my heart's content with ...

Murderer! Apparently it is possible to "kill" your yarn and I did it, though I will plead to manslaughter since there was no intent to "kill". This morning at my LYS, a fellow knitting aficionado, began showing me the finer points of using the mattress stitch to join garment pieces. All at once I had an epiphany, this garment looks too wide and short. I panicked. I already knew that the length-wise gauge was off, adding one more diamond shape would have gotten me to get the proper length, but let's face it...we don't know what we don't know. I had already decided that a half shirt was perfectly acceptable and my daughter, the intended recipient, would likely wear it to the beach with her blue jeans. A quick measure confirmed my newest fear. The garment that I'd been loving working on, frogging, re-knitting, measuring and toiling over grew 2 inches in girth. It was a tragedy! Did you get that? A TRAGEDY! "How could this happen to me?...