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Today would be Grandma Wild’s 111 birthday.

(picture is from 2006 at First Congregational Church, Laingsburg, Michigan, Lee (Bell) Wild)

Here is a scanned 1965 Christmas photo with Linda (my younger sister and best sister) with Great Granddad Ed holding her, a young Lee holding me, Great Grandma Ruby standing over us all, and dad, Bob Wild, dressed as Santa. Linda and Ed have the same birthday and enjoyed joint parties for years.

The day started with me getting going at 8AM, waking just a few times and late. I was still exhausted last night. I felt better, but I was determined to go slow. I made a breakfast of liberal Fair Exchange brand coffee in my French Press with a banana and two corn muffins I made the day before. I spent the whole morning writing as I started over once. I had trouble finding my voice today, and my spelling and punctuation were terrible this morning.

After 11AM, I boarded Air Volvo to see Susie at the hummingbird house. The traffic on a Thursday was the worst I have seen this week. I managed to get there after noon, and Susie was delighted to see me.

We headed outside in the sunny and dry Metzger Park, which was unexpected in March in Oregon. Usually, the grey is so bad it seems like twilight all day, and the rain is constant–not this year. The park was lovely, and we called Leta from there. Leta has finished her repairs to her house; no more mice and raccoons. She hopes it will be warmer now that the insulation is replaced in the ceiling. Leta was excited to see Susie outside and enjoy the sunny Oregon day (with an icy wind).

Next, coming back inside, we watched the movie Tourist as Jolie got the last word. It is a fun movie and has some unexpected turns. Jolie is just perfect throughout the whole film. Susie stayed awake the entire time.

At 3:45 or so, I was ready to return home. Susie had missed me yesterday and was not prepared for me to head home, but she relented. No tears today, but concern. I promised a short visit on Friday (back to work for me). I tucked Susie in and got her safe (crash pad in place), and left with a kiss.

I stopped by the hobby shop, gray undercoat paint, and the cleaners to pick up my now-shortened pants. I arrived after 4PM. The mail contained a $1 refund of an overpayment to an Rx we used to use when Susie was at Forest Grove. I hate it when they send me checks back–such a waste when they should bill me correctly the first time.

Next, I headed to BJ’s Brewhouse and had a steak to celebrate my feeling better. There I wrote this blog.

Thanks for reading.

I am writing this on Thursday morning, taking another day off as I need to do more self-care and rest one more day. By the end of Wednesday, I was exhausted, still having some memory issues from the general anesthetic, and went to bed early and slept through until 7ish, which never happened to me.

I am having trouble writing today as I am still out of focus.

I spent the evening, starting at 2AM, drinking that unpleasant bowel prep solution, lime flavored with a strong soap taste, and then experiencing the effects. I had gone to bed at about 11ish and did sleep until my alarm woke me. I had no rest until about 4:30, when the effects slowed. I then slept for an hour. I showered, dressed, and just as I sat down, Uber let me know that my driver was early. A gal in a clean car took me to Portland, and we had no real traffic until we neared the tunnel on 26. My driver, pressed through by changing lanes occasionally, got me to the doctor’s office early. I rated her high and gave her an excellent tip on the Uber app. I checked in, and they commented I was early–I had a ninety-minute wait. While waiting, I used the restroom and was proud of my clarity–it was hard fought.

The process is more assembly line than a medical procedure. But, there is close attention to safety and clarity of purpose with some required rituals of identification for each step. For example, I had to agree that I was me by stating my birthdate often, and medical folks, including the doctor, would say this is so and so, and we are here to do this procedure and then would read my bracelet to see that it matched what he said.

The general anesthetic, Propofol, was one I had experienced before, and I told the nurse I was interested to see if I had the same experience. I watched the nurse push the drug, and she said I would be asleep soon. I had felt a strange taste, and then I awoke again, and everything was over. The IV was gone, and I commented that I was surprised. I was awake when they removed it, but my memory is missing. I dressed and was happy but unable to manage with dexterity getting ready. I went slower, and I was able to dress. I moved slowly and was politely lectured not to drink alcohol today and not to make any important decisions.

I told the nurse I was fine as I had just turned over all my assets to the other nurse, who waved and smiled at that comment. Yes, my smart-ass was still working despite the anesthetic. After the eye-rolling from the nurse trying to be serious, they found me a radio taxi home and sent me home.

The results, I have, dear reader, made you wait for is the doc found three polyps and removed them. It is unlikely any being severe. Pathology will come in a week or so. The doc will see back in three years.

I arrived at the house in the taxi without issue and with no real traffic. I then chopped up 1/2 a fresh green pepper with 1/2 an onion. Next, I sliced up some good locally made ham from Olympic Provisions and heated all that in olive oil. Once wilted, I added egg beaters and cheese and made a Denver scramble. Next, I got out an NYC poppy seed bagel (frozen as I could not eat them all before the colonoscopy), toasted it, and covered it with cream cheese. I later added a cup of apple sauce to get a balanced meal. Finally, I made liberal coffee in the French Press.

I ate all this and watched another Battle Ship New Jersey video. The curator for the battleship is doing videos of the interior of the SS United States, the fastest Ocean Liner ever built. This is a ship I have often wondered about, and the last of her kind (SS France, later SS Norway, was scrapped in the 2000s after a boiler explosion). There is a small hope that the SS United States can be turned into a convention center (or like facility) and be preserved (the ship is in Philadelphia). Much of the interior was acquired by museums, and some parts are in private collector hands (a coffee press from the ship for sale for $200 on eBay).

After eating my eggs, bagel, and apple sauce, I went to rest. I managed to sleep until the afternoon, waking up a few times. One of the side effects of the anesthetic I was experiencing was anxiety, and I was full of nervous energy, so I tried to keep calm and do little things. I managed to make corn muffins. I reviewed the expenses in Quicken for the last two months, updated any uncategorized expenses, and corrected some automatic applications of categories. I went outside and took pictures of the roses and tulips, waking up for 2023. I ordered more electronics from Sparkfun, including replacing the amp I destroyed (blue smoked that last one).

I also learned how the new power boards I acquired from Sparkfun worked. I was planning only 1A 5V, but that might be weak as I was learning from my reading. I got out the board, found a larger LiPo battery, and plugged it all in. The power switch does not work when the micro-B USB is used (WTF!), and I will need to use a button like I planned. I plan to have the radio charge a backup battery and still play without power for about an hour or longer. I also found an AdaFruit version in my collection of the same type of powerboard and thus can use it if using the Sparkfun board becomes too complex for my simple application.

I decided not to connect anything together and just read–the warning about making decisions still being valid.

Dinner was with David and Michelle Smith at Swagarts in Hillsboro. They picked me up (no driving allowed) after forgetting I needed a ride. We had a great dinner, my lamb being just a bit spicy (this is mild!), and the Smiths getting an all-meat entree (not what they thought they ordered), but we mixed and matched, and it worked.

David finally received my Christmas present for 2022. I had acquired cheaply two US stamps and put them in a small plastic frame with a magnetic cover (the best for this kind of thing, I think), and you could see both sides of the stamps. The stamps are the US#1 Franklin (1847) and the CSA#1 (1861) Jefferson Davis stamps–only fifteen years apart and are the first stamps for the respective governments (Confederate stamps considered a subset of USA). It took me six months to find the frame in a store (ordering glass or fragile plastic from Amazon is just not wise).

I was stumbling and tired when the Smiths returned me to the Volvo Cave. I went to bed soon after that.

Thanks for reading.

 

I took the day off from Nike. I was tired from the events over the week, and I had to do the prep for my colonoscopy. Not a day to return to work for a day.

I slept until 7ish as the time change still has me not waking before 7ish. I then wrote the blog and remembered to not eat anything. I drank only a few cups of coffee, even liberal coffee made in a French Press is not that appealing when you can’t eat anything other than clear liquids. Later, I microwaved some chicken broth and choked that down.

I added the hot water to the bowel prep solution, shook it until all the powder resolved, and placed it in the frig after it cooled. I showered and dressed. I headed out around 11.

The first stop was Safeway. I got apple juice in small containers and broth (mentioned above) for today. I picked out some flowers for Susie, including a small bunch of daffodils, Susie’s favorite. I bought some items for later in the week (when I can eat) and got two one-quart containers of buttermilk. This is to make Irish-style bread, and I got one for me and one for the hummingbird house.

I called ahead and flew in Air Volvo across Beaverton, noticing the local flooding. The backyard has three inches of water again; another rain river is hitting the West Coast this week. I had to do a U-turn on Murphy Road as it was partially blocked by either flooding or construction. I also did that on our nearby 209th, temporarily blocked by utility work. Despite a few detours, I made it safe in Air Volvo to the hummingbird house at about 11:30 in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was delighted to see me and was thrilled with the flowers, especially the daffodils. Susie had fed herself today, but with some pain. Jenniffer has Susie use the arm to prevent permanent loss of dexterity. Jennifer, the live-in nurse aide, was happy to get a quart of buttermilk from me. I provide an early gift of King Arthur Irish Soda Bread mix for St. Patrick’s Day.

Susie was watching a Hallmark movie, surprisingly staring Duchess Meghan. We called Susie’s mother, and they talked for a while. I was not in a hurry as I was not working today. After the call, Susie watched the show and nodded off a few times, she was still exhausted, and I soon said goodbye with a kiss.

The trip back was fast, but with moderate rain, the puddles were getting large. The sky was grey, and there were no signs of blue. The mail arrived, but no packages so far.

I started on my speakers-in-a-box project. I remembered that Arduino controllers cannot convert to analog signals–they use PWM (Pulse Width Modulated). So I googled how to filter the pulse to a voltage (effectively smoothing the square-wave signal to a single voltage) on the Internet. The RC bypass filter seemed to be the answer, and I found a website with a calculator that suggested a 330 Ohm register and 1uF capacitor. I found those (I have bags of these) and connected them into the filter circuit. I discovered I could make it work for low pulses (0-32 analog values on a PMW pin) and controlled a needle meter using a rat nest of jumpers and an Arduino Pro. I reworked the connectors for the meter. Now I can run the needle meter from Arduino; excellent!

I started my bowel prep by drinking 8 oz every ten minutes until half of it was gone. The bathroom trips began after the first hour. While this was going on, I worked on assembling my project. I connected the on/off switch, speakers, and powered to the amp. Here I made a mistake. I thought the amp took 9V and fried another amp. At this time, the prep was having its effects, and I stopped working and read and rushed to the bathroom until I finally slept for an hour or so once things got better.

I read book two of Grey Mouser and Fafhrd and started three.

I did laundry (I had to–best not to share details) and unloaded dishes. My next dose of bowel prep is 2:15AM, and I have an Uber for 6:15AM to take me to my 7:15 appointment in Portland.

My eBay purchase of another dead tube radio arrived later today. This is for my project. It is smaller than my previous build and needs some wood repair of the veneer–but I think I can handle that. The speaker cloth, while wrinkled, appears usable.

Thank you for reading.

 

Sorry, forgot to take pics on Monday.

Going backward, I was home after 8PM after an average dinner at a local place I will not return to. I decided I needed some food on my last meal before starting on liquids for my colonoscopy on Wednesday. So I drove around to a nearby local place; I was fatigued. I arrived after six, stayed until about 8, and wrote the blog. I had a beer and some lame appetizers, and then an industrial spaghetti and meatballs. The salad was the highlight. No name, as they cannot defend themselves here–I am not willing to flame someone who might be having an off-day here.

While home and before heading to bed early, despite the coffee that kept me awake all night, I worked on some electronics. I mounted the 3V needle meter (old-school looking) and an On/Off metal switch (old-school too) and soldered the wires for all those. I found I have a supply of 3.3V Arduino Pro boards without headers that are perfect for permanent use. I bought these back in 2020 when they were new.

Aside: Arduino Pro boards are not that great. You need a serial connection to talk to them (no easy USB connection is available), and while the board has a LiPo battery connection, it has no recharge capability (!?). However, the board is a stable Arduino platform with tiny LEDs and usual cool features, all at a safe 3.3V. It has a voltage regulator allowing me to plug in a 9V battery and use the Arduino to supply 3.3V to the remaining hardware. Adafruit produces better Metro boards, but this is cheap (less than $20) and avoids the mysteries of why the old 5V Arduino suddenly stopped that I see here and there with older models.

Before this, I was with Susie until 3PM. She was still in bed and in her PJs. Jennifer wanted Susie to rest, and Susie thought it was a good idea. So I just sat with her and used my Apple. I had to use my hotspot connection as the Internet was unstable at the hummingbird house (Comcast). I was getting sleepy and left and returned to the Volvo Cave (getting my new meds in the mail); I rested for a bit and then, as covered above, went out for dinner.

I rushed to see Susie in the afternoon, having been up until 3AM the night before with Susie’s visit to the ER, as she had a video appointment at 2PM. Despite setting the software for the video appointment, I again had to override the setting at the general settings (!?), and then the sound worked. My mic is dead on my Apple, so I plug in earbuds and override the sound back to the speakers.

Aside: To get it fixed, I would need to send my machine for repair, which likely would mean no Apple for weeks. Ugh. I am considering a new device and then seeing the cost (yikes!) After that, I decided I could make this work.

The process is to connect to a check-in person first (likely at their home and following a script) who checks us in and puts up with connection issues. Once we get the connection working and review all the questions (always the same), the $20 co-payment goes through (my iPhone sounds the event at US Bank), and we await the doc.

After ten minutes, the doc appeared in the video call, and he and Jennifer mostly spoke to brief her on the care for Susie’s arm and expectations of changes. Doc was disappointed that we ended up in the ER; he said he was trying to avoid that. But he agreed that we were justified in that choice. It was decided to stop the blood thinner for two days (four doses), and he would send an order for that. Generally, the doc said that the bleeding was over, and now we just needed to manage the impact of the bruising on Susie’s arm. All good news.

For those not following along: Susie hurt her arm somehow, or there was an infection. The arm bled in the muscles, both the upper and lower right arm muscles. Now this blood turns into a hard thrombosis and needs to be managed. Susie’s arm is sore and hard to use–this should improve over the next two weeks. We are stopping blood thinner for two days to prevent more bleeding and improve the arm by hopefully having the bruise heal faster. We will carefully monitor this.

Before this, I slept into 10ish (on the new time), skipped writing, and had breakfast/lunch of Chinese soup with wontons, pork, and baby bak choy. I had only four hours of sound sleep at the most. It made for a hard day.

Thanks for reading.

 

Sunday, I was trying to run slower and rest up a bit. I did not want to wear myself out, and I have a colonoscopy on Wednesday, so I was trying to get some rest. Sunday was not restful.

The day started with me starting after 8AM as I had set no alarm, and it was a time change morning. So my usual wake-up early was an hour off. I do not like time change weekends. So I was online and writing my blog, a rather lone one, skipping church and getting ready about 30 minutes late, and headed to Susie’s at 11:30ish. The traffic, likely impacted by the time change, was light and not imaginative with applying traffic laws or traditions.

Susie, and it is hard to remember as the day went off the rails later, was just finishing her breakfast with Anassa, the nurse aide on the weekend, feeding Susie as her right arm is still not working. Susie had bleeding in the muscle of her right arm, which caused a large bruise and a thrombosis in the arm, making it painful to move. Susie moved, my memory is dim here, to her recliner, and we called her mother, who was concerned about Susie’s new impairment, her right arm. We sat and watched Tim Allen’s latest comedy reruns for a while, and then I headed to lunch while Susie had some soup with Anassa at hummingbird house.

Lunch was soup, thinking of the future, so Panera was nearby. I had never tried this one, and it was pleasant and clean, and the food was just a little better than the usual Panera stuff. I had the new, improved version of French Onion soup and hot tea. I sat and watched some videos in a corner away from folks so I could hear and they would not hear it and be annoyed. I watched some new Nerd of the Ring videos–can’t get enough LOTR. I thanked the manager for the lovely place and food as I left.

Susie was resting in bed when I got there, her arm was not improved but was not much worse, and she was comfy. I stayed with her all afternoon using my hotspot on my iPhone for Internet as the connection at the hummingbird house (Comcast) was unstable. Susie was awake much of the afternoon and woke me once after I nodded off. The whole remaining afternoon was us just hanging out in her room.

I headed next, having put all the books, papers, and iPod in the car this morning so I could play Dungeons and Dragons. I stopped by McMenamins to get some soup and a Ruby beer. I had almost no time, but they went fast, and I got dinner.

I was just a few minutes early at Cory’s house. We are playing Spelljammers 5e, a D&D roleplaying game in space with warp engines. I play an out-of-the-book Paladin of Devotion, a holy knight, and found myself healing and saving folks in too close (nearly total-party-kill, TPK) battle. My character casts spells that help or bring wraith; my paladin can recover by lay-on-hands. I was busy all night in three harsh battles healing and protecting and allowing my now healed fellow adventures to bring on the damage to the bad guys.

We did get to use one of the models of a space jammer I built. They still look good (I forgot to take a photo). In the last battle for the night, I got a call from Michelle Nixon from Allegiance Senior Care. Susie’s arm was much worse, and they wanted to send her to the ER. I suddenly had to leave. Matt V offered me help, and I could not think of anything and left. I headed to St.V as that was on the way to the Hummingbird house in Portland (Tigard) at 9925 SW 82nd. Ave. Portland (Tigard), OR 97223; phone (503) 246-4116.

Susie was sent to Legacy Meridian Park; never been there, but Air Volvo nav led me there. An older and less formal hospital than I am used to. After the usual confusion of getting incomplete directions and being redirected, I found Susie, who was looking OK. However, her arm was more yellow and a bit more swollen. The ER doc was not worried and suggested we get another ultrasound and do some basic blood work. Susie consented to the needles; it took two draws to get the needed blood.

The blood tests said Susie was her usual slightly out of the ordinary, but smart ER doc had checked this against her previous results, which they were consistent with, and thus he was less concerned–Susie was not bleed-out. The ultrasound found no blood clots and showed the thrombosis was about the same, and they could better imagine it. All done; the only thing to do is put the blood thinner on hold and see if that helps the arm, but that was our doc’s decision.

I was then mistreated, and Susie was treated roughly to get her out of the room. A rude person was unhappy and took it out on us. I heard one of the nurses chewing on the admin folks about our case, as they apparently had done all the paperwork wrong the first time and had to redo it. Also, I had to have the hummingbird house call them and arrange transport.

A skilled and friendly man with an excellent van and wheelchair returned Susie to the hummingbird house after midnight. The night staff cared for us now and were happy to help. I tipped the driver and left and was home at about 2ish.

When driving through the Scholl Ferry intersection, with a green light, I swear, all the ticket lights went off. Ugh! I hope the light was green!

I took my meds, had a bagel cold from NYC (thanks, Joyce), and waited 30 mins for my phone to charge up, and then went to bed.

Thanks for reading.