Daily Update, October 3, 2023

    After breakfast, I called Uber, and a gal came. We had a nice talk as she took me over to Clinical Labs for a test my doctor wants before I see him Monday. I gave them the order from my cardiologist and told them who my doctor was. They tried for an hour to get him and called me over to ask if I wanted to try again, but nothing they did could get him to answer. After two hours, they took the blood for the cardiologist's tests, and made an appointment for Friday when I said that Next week was too late. They strongly recommended picking up the requisition paper before coming, but I don't know that I'll have time. Somehow, when there's no driver in the household, the simplest errands suddenly become far more complicated. {rueful smile}

   I got the same driver coming back, and she mentioned she drives her neighbor and some others without Uber; just calling direct. I got her number in my phone, so now I can also call Emily when I need to take Val to the vet. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Then I continued reading Mom's niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. Next, I showed her the covers and first few pages of _Visions of Scotland_, starting over from the beginning. She seemed to liek the pictures. Then, I read a story from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. I finished with "Feeding Birds," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Mummy gives the narrator the job of shaking the tablecloth out outside, where the crumbs scatter for the birds. Leftovers follow, and the narrator watches from the window. The starlings are the greediest, each trying to get the best scraps. The robin gets the tiny crumbs, and stays out of the way of bigger birds, including the thrush, and the blackbird, who sings thank you afterwards from his favorite tree. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises and my arm swinging exercises while waiting for Uber to take me to Clinical Labs. Then at my usual time, I got my 8 1/2 minutes of salsa dancing warmup done. Then after a break, I did around 11 3/4 minutes of less structured salsa dancing. I'm not quite sure how much, because I stopped in the middle of the first piece to give Val some Karo syrup for hypoglycemia and backed up to compensate. That's around 20 1/4 minutes of salsa dancing; quite typical. {SMILE}

   I read articles and comics over lunch and hopped into City of Heroes quickly afterward. I found both Div and Perogies on and let them know I needed to clean myself up before playing, but I'd return. It took about an hour, like I expected, though I tried to make it quicker. I talked with them, and we got together. Perogies and I went into Div's base to admire the Halloween decorations he'd just added: an outside firepit with Jack 'o Lanterns amongst the seat around it. Then Div switched to the character he wanted to get the Trick or Treat rewards on, while Perogies and I stayed on our warshades. They're low level for Trick or Treating in this game, but we let Div lead, and did pretty well. We teamed and chatted for about an hour before Div simply had to rest. So, we said goodnight, and Perogies and I did a couple of missions on our warshades, continuing the arc Kitten and I started the other day. Then Perogies wanted to catch the later long, large group event, which he did on his warshade. I didn't feel comfortable with doing it on a mid-level character of a type I'm still learning to play, so I switched to the high-level character I'm currently concentrating on developing. We started late and ended just when I like to go read to Mom, but I did get started about on time. {Smile}

   After dinner, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming again. Perogies was gone, but qworty was there. We chatted, and he admitted he was very disappointed in trick-or-treating in this game. Just having random monsters pop out random doors with random companions is not why he plays. I understand. I tried to show him a mission I've always gotten from trick-or-treating. He found that much more interesting. However, we joined with a fellow who needed understanding ears more than a mission. He joined us. played for a while, talked, and left before finishing the mission. Azurette came in and stated talking with me. After the other left, I invited her to join us. We finished the mission together, though Azurette came in too late to get one of the big rewards. She said she's got all month to get them, though. Then we ran a couple of regular missions. Azurette told us that the mission I always got from trick-or-treating in costume can be gotten from doing any other content in costume, too. I'll have to try that. I think qworty will, too. He's slightly warmer to trick-or-treating, but not a lot. Then we broke up so I could do my exercises. {Smile}

Daily Update, October 2, 2023

    Well, a text conversation with the veterinarian's office, plus a couple of phone calls each with Melanie and Alan arranged for Val to have a ultrasound of his heart on Saturday. Alan can take us; Melanie is busy that day. Between them, they took a lot of my morning. {Smile}

   I also got a call from The Fire Ant Guy. He wasn't sure when I'd last contacted him. I wasn't, either, but I'd noticed a note on Friday saying to call him. Well, he said he was coming to town on Friday, and wanted to drop by that afternoon. Works for me. then we discussed where I've seen ants, and what I can do about it. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. First, I read scripture and thoughts about it. Next, I continued reading Mom's niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. After that, I showed her the last several pages of _The Picture Book of Kids and Animals_ . She does seem to like those pictures. Then, I read two stories and a few poems from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. Last was today's story, "Sam the Jockey," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Sam was a circus dog who'd been trained to do a variety of tricks, including walking on his hind legs, jumping through a paper hoop, and riding on the back of a circus horse. He loved doing them with his master, and their busy life together. Then one day he was told he was too old to continue. His master took him to a racetrack to console him. There, Sam saw a horse next to the racetrack that reminded him of the circus horse, so he jumped onto it's back. Startled, the horse took off, joining the race and winning it. After that, Sam was invited back to the circus to perform one day a week. {Smile}

   I did my walking exercises, my head exercises, and my arm resistance exercises after the evening team broke up. Then I did my full salsa warmup: all three pieces for around 8 minutes and 40 seconds. Then I did the first less structured piece and started another. I was almost 1 1/2 minutes into the second piece when I admitted I wasn't up to continuing. That's still 16 minutes and over 10 second of salsa dancing: more than I did yesterday by almost a minute and a half. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics in the morning around the texts and phone calls. Then over lunch, I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming, and got right into a lot of paperwork: so much so, I missed the early short, large-group event. I think I caught the early long, large-group event. Then I did a little paperwork it had made and found Perogies. I was just starting a conversation with them when Div said hi. I had heard from him in a month and a half, and it had been longer yet before that! I was delighted to see him again. We had quite a time caching up. He's hoping to come in more for the Halloween event, which is supposed to start tomorrow, and last slightly into November. That's always huge at City of Heroes: Homecoming, between fun special content and good rewards. {SMILE} We talked a long while, and I talked with Perogies, too. Div still left in time for me to join Perogi3es in the later short, large-group event. then we teamed up for a few of the high-level individual missions with good rewards, switching characters to make sure they all got good rewards. We did that until it was time to read to Mom and feed Val and said goodnight, since Perogies was tired. {Smile}

   After dinner, neither Kitten nor Perogies were on, so I did a lot of paperwork, dragging my heels until I had no excuse not to find someone to team up. I'd gotten into the habit of just teaming with them or maybe Phonso, who wasn't on either, when I was sick, but I was feeling enough better to be ever so slightly daring. Azurette was on, so I started talking with her. So was the new friend who also likes stories. He says to call him qworty, which he often uses as a handle on the net. Eventually we teamed up and did a few missions one of my higher but not very high-level characters had. We broke up when I needed to start my exercises, and qworty needed to go to bed. I did sneak back for more paperwork. Oh! And I discovered Discord, my chat server, wasn't working as we were winding down. I think it was working this morning, but it hadn't been working for at least a few hours. this meant missing stuff from both Nox and Kitten, though Kitten and I still got to talk a little during coffee breaks. {Smile}

Daily Update, October 1, 2023

    Today was Sunday, so after breakfast, I contacted Uber, and a driver came to take me to church. It was one I haven't seen in a while, and we had a lovely talk all the way down, catching up. {Smile}

   She got me there during the announcements, so I got all the main parts of the service. Our priest was back today - her first day back since she started maternity leave late in her pregnancy. I didn't see the baby today, but I saw lots of animals, because it was the day we honor Saint Francis, and part of that is blessing the animals. 

   We didn't have much to eat, but we had lots of peanuts. Some of mine were left over, along with a few of the snack bars, and I brought the other bottle of peanuts. Folks seemed to like them. At the end, someone poured the last of the old bottle into the new one, so they didn't have to worry about two bottles. {Smile}

   Ed asked if I had a ride. When I said not yet, he took me home. It was really fun talking to him on the way. {Smile}

   I ate dinner with Mom and read to her before that. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. I only read today's entry, since I finally caught up with my readings. After that, I continued reading Mom's niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. Then, I showed her the next several pages of _The Picture Book of Kids and Animals_. Next, I read a story and a few poems from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. Yes, I'm finally back to that book. I ended with today's story, "Training Rex," from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. Rex, a big, boisterous puppy, greeted his friend, Patsy, the poodle next door. Rex was confused by his mater's behavior. He'd started taking Rex for walks on short leads, shouting "Heel!" frequently, and never letting Rex pull ahead, or sniff interesting smells. He wondered why his master did that. Patsy wondered if he was afraid an enemy would attack and wanted Rex to protect him. His master also threw a stick and called "Fetch!" Rex sat down and looked at him when he didn't understand. His mater then picked up Rex, took him to the stick, put it in his mouth, and made him bring it back. Patsy said her mistress liked to throw sticks for her to bring back, too, but she didn't mind because her mistress was very kind. Rex agreed his master was kind, then went when he heard the whistle that calls him to dinner, still puzzled. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises while waiting for Uber to come get me and take me to church. I did my arm resistance exercises, my walking exercises, and my arm swinging exercises after teaming with Kitten in the evening. Then I did both of the pieces I did yesterday back-to-back for 6 1/2 minutes of salsa dancing at once. I was so excited, I told Kitten immediately, since they were the only friend who I thought was up. Then I tried more after a rest and did the third salsa warmup piece and the first less structured salsa piece back-to-back. I told Kitten about that too. They congratulated me each time. {SMILE}

   I had a bit more lunch when I got home. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming. Kitten wasn't there, or responding much on the chat server, but Perogies was there. We joined the early, short, large-group event together, then the early long, large-group event. Then we teamed up, doing a couple of the individual high-level missions with good rewards. Then I switched to a slightly lower-level character and did one of his missions. Then Perogies said he was tired and left so quickly that Kitten - who was just getting on - missed him entirely. Kitten was pretty upset. They're quite excited about their warshade, and wanted to get at least a level. We waited for Perogies, but he was definitely gone to bed, so I suggested we team up, and we started the next arc in the zone, doing the first two missions and a talk that followed before it was time to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. Perogies was still not there, but Kitten was eager to continue, so we did the third and last mission, and the talk that followed that. Then we started the next story arc, which is the last for that zone. The first two missions were straight-forward. Then there's a set of four missions that are done one after another. We got three of them done before I felt I needed to stop and exercise. We did chat on the chat server afterwards, and they congratulated me when I told them how much the dancing improved over yesterday. {SMILE}

Daily Update, September 30, 2023

    I texted the secretary at the nursing agency, and she called to clear up a misunderstanding. When she said that I was "good to go," she meant that I didn't have to mask up and distance with Mom anymore. Somehow, I missed that. {Smile}

   I texted with our housekeeper, too. She would have come today, except for a splitting headache. She hoped it would leave in time to let her come this afternoon, but I guess it didn't. She did say she'd come Monday if not, so I'm hoping to see her then. {Smile} 

   I also text chatted with Perogies, who wanted to know what level Kitten's and my warshades were. I assured him they were 20. He said he'd worked his up that morning to 20, too. That's the level we all needed to be for the next story arc from the special warshade-only contact. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast and dinner with Mom and read to her before dinner. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Since it was my last day of catching up, I started with Tuesday, September 26th's entry, then read today's entry, Saturday the 29th's.  Next, I started reading Mom's niece's long family Christmas letter from 2019. Then, I finally got back to picture books, showing her the first several pages of _The Picture Book of Kids and Animals_. I'd gotten it as a treat for Mom, since she does love both children and animals, but it arrived while I was sick, so this is the first reading. Next, I ended with two stories from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. The first was _The Wild Rabbit_, the September 26th story. Ben was a wild rabbit, happily living in the forest with his many friends, where he ran free. If he sensed danger, he'd drum with his hind legs, and all the rabbits would run for cover. Sometimes he visited his cousin, who lived in a hutch next to a vegetable garden. He was very well fed, and said that life was easy, but Ben was glad to run free. The second story was the September 30th story, _The Visitor_. Tom tried to call his dog, Lucky, off from where he was barking, jumping up and down in excitement. A large hedgehog had gotten stuck in the gate. Tom wanted to keep it, but his mother freed it, saying it lived free, and that Lucky would chase it. Tom had to agree. {Smile}

   I did my walking exercises after the one higher level mission with Kitten. Then I went straight to my salsa dancing without much of a break. I did the piece I did the last two nights, and didn't even feel winded, though I did think I'd better rest. I took care of Val, then did the second piece, which is slightly longer and distinctly quicker. That time, I was winded... but hey, it adds up to around 6 minutes, 30 second between the two of them, which is better than 3 minutes 10 seconds, right? {SMILE} After another short break, I did my head exercises, my arm swinging exercises, my arm resistance exercises, my standing arm weight training exercises, my leg exercises, and 

   I read comics and articles in the morning, then hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming around lunch time. I started with paperwork, and soon found myself chatting with Perogies, who was hoping to join the early short, large-group event. I joined him when I finished the paperwork... folks were gathering, but no one was recruiting at first. Then the leader arrived, and started collecting the group, including both of us. We ran the group, and then split up. he had things to do, and I needed to clean myself up. After cleaning myself up, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. Perogies and Kitten were already both there on their Warshades, so I grabbed mine, too. We started the arc we'd all worked our level up for, and ran most of it that afternoon, breaking only when it was time for me to read to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming, and found Perogies all ready. I think I had to message Kitten on the chat service, but that worked nicely, and we three teamed up again to finish the last couple of missions in that special warshade story arc. We only gained one level, but the settings were low. The next special warshade story arc is level 25, so I see more regular story arcs in our near future. {Grin} Then Perogies headed to bed, and Kitten switched to their favorite character to help my lowest level character gain a couple of levels. He was so low (5th level) that he had to check in every month to keep his name reserved. At level six, it goes from 30 days to 90 days, with 20 going to 365 days, and 50 being reserved no matter how long they're offline. 90 days is a lot easier to catch than 30, I find. I also chatted with Nox on the chat server. When the little fellow had the couple of levels I wanted for him, we switched to one of my level 44s, and did one mission before breaking for me to exercise. We chatted minimally on the chat server, too. I also slipped in a little paperwork and even less soloing between exercises. {Smile}

Daily Update, September 29, 2023

    Well, Val didn't throw up again, but I thought I'd better call the vet anyway. I did so late in the morning. They wanted to see him after lunch I'd been hoping to avoid another trip, especially since it might be eating too much too quickly or something, but they wanted to see him, so I called Alan. He needed to pick us up earlier because he had a ride scheduled at one already. So, he picked us up and took us down after an early lunch. I enjoyed our talk on the way down. {smile}

   They saw him, and gave him a shot for the nausea, and dropped his new medicine about twice as much as I expected, so I guess I'm glad I took him in. Then I called Alan, and he took us home. I enjoyed our talk on the way back, too. {Smile}

   I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Mom today and I read to her before dinner, too. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Since I'm still catching up, I started with Monday, September 25th's entry, then read today, Friday the 29th's entry.  Next, I read a Christmas card from her cousin's granddaughter, and a Mother's Day card from her sister. Then, I skipped the picture books again, and read a story from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. Last, I ended with two stories from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. The first was _Cheeky Charlie_, the September 25th story. Charlie Shrew was watching a centipede, and asked if with all those feet, they tread on each other often. Offended, the centipede insisted they didn't. They always knew where they were. Then the centipede asked Charlie if, with that long tail, folks tread on it often, and started walking towards Cahrlie's tail. Charlie ran off and never teased the centipede again. The second story was the September 29th story, _Bobby Robin_. Bobby asked his father why the feathers on Bobby's chest were all brown, not red like his father's. His father said it was because he was young, and to wait; they'd change in time. Bobby didn't want to wait, and he knew there was a tine of red paint in a toolshed. So, he went there and daubed it on his chest until he had two layers of paint. But his parents got mad when he got home, especially his mother, who insisted he wash it right off. Fortunately, it was water paint, and came off in the stream. {Smile}

   I did my walking exercises, my arm swinging exercises, and my arm resistance exercises after the solo mission with Kitten. Then I tried my salsa dancing and had to stop after the first piece. I was almost tempted to go on, but I got more tired than I expected as I rested. I think I was still less tired than yesterday, though, which is a relief. I'm still getting better. I did my leg exercises, head exercises, standing arm weight training exercises, and sitting arm weight training exercises. So, I did as much as yesterday, just no more. {Smile}

   I read articles in the morning before the call to the vet. I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming after returning from the vet. There, I found Perogies and Kitten on that set of characters we've been interested in recently. I think I'll just tell you they're called warshades, because I'm having trouble figuring out how to describe them so readers will know I mean them again. They're one of four special class types with special storylines open only to them. We ran the last mission or more we could get until gaining a few levels. Then we picked a story arc we all like to run again to gain level. We ran the first mission, then chatted because it was just too close to time to read to Mom to run another one. {Smile}

   After dinner, I came back, and left texts to let them both know I was there. I honestly expected Perogies to have gone to bed, but no, he came on, and we waited for Kitten to join us. We ran two more missions in the surprisingly short arc. Then we ran the next arc, which was a little longer, but not much. I said goodnight to Nox on the chat server after they'd left for bed, having missed their earlier message, which somehow didn't show up as a number by the chat server's icon like it usually does. Then Perogies went to bed. Kitten and I ran an individual mission. Then, Kitten street-swept while I started my exercises. After the brief salsa dancing, we ran another individual mission before Kitten got first me then themselves up to our target level with yet more street-sweeping. I finished my exercises, caught up on reading comics, and wrote this up, switching to notes when it got late, to finish and share the next day. {Smile}

Daily Update, September 28, 2023

    I had a quieter day than yesterday, thankfully. Val has thrown up two or three times, with the repeats too late to call the vet, and they're what convinced me I need to. So, I'll have to do that tomorrow. {resigned look}

   A short text conversation with the nursing company made me more confident that I can continue to do as I did yesterday. {Smile}

   The other notable thing that happened was getting to talk to our former nurse on the phone. It seemed to involve a few phone calls, at least one because he had to take care of something, and at least one because we got cut off. I'm not sure for at least one more. It all added up to one nice, long conversation, though. I did enjoy talking to him again. {Smile}

   I ate lunch and dinner with Mom today and I read to her before dinner, too. the nursing company decided it was okay as long as I masked up while reading and kept my distance while eating. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Since I'm still catching up, I started with Sunday, September 24th's entry, then read today, Thursday the 28th's entry.  Next, I read a birthday card from her sister, and a birthday card from me, too. Then, I skipped the picture books again, and read a story from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. Last, I ended with two stories from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. The first was _The Rhubarb Leaves_, the September 24th story. A fine, strong rhubarb plant stood in the garden, sad that people pulled out the plants, cut the stems off to use in puddings and pies, and throw the leaves away. Then the sky went dark, and rain began to fall. A bee, a butterfly, and a marmalade kitten all took refuge from the rain under the rhubarb leaves. They were happy to be useful at last. The second story was actually a poem called _Three Little Ducks_, about three little ducks who strayed from home, made noise, and then went back to their nest when they got tired. {Smile}

   After the evening play in City of Heroes: Homecoming, I did my head exercises, arm swinging exercises, arm resistance exercises, and walking exercises. Those all went well, and up to speed with no trouble for the first time since I got sick. So, I tried salsa dancing. That was up to speed because not keeping up with the music isn't really an option, but I got winded during the first piece, and simply had to sit and rest. That was around 3 minutes and 10 seconds. At first, I hoped I could break it up, and at least finish my warmup that way, but after a while, I realized that was a bit ambitious for my first day dancing again. So, I did my leg exercises, my standing arm weight training exercises, and my sitting arm weight training exercises. I figured that was enough. My leg exercises were also up to speed. The weight training exercises are deliberately slowed down, so I can't say that about them. {Smile}

I read articles and caught up on comics in the morning and after lunch. One of the sites I read comics on malfunctioned yesterday and part of the day before, so I caught up today. I also chatted by text with Ulty a bit. Then our former nurse's phone call pulled me away from that. When that was done, I cleaned myself up, and read some of the longer comics before hopping into City of Heroes: Homecoming. There, it was a little late for the later short, large group event, but Perogies came on, and we joined the later long, large group with time to spare. We ran that whole event, which as usual ended where I had just barely more time than I needed for the paperwork it produced before reading to Mom. {Smile}

   After dinner, I checked in City of Heroes: Homecoming. Not seeing anyone I particularly like to hang out with, I a new comic. I was interested at first, but just a few issues, and I'm losing interest. Unlike a manga-style comic book I'm falling in love with and read when i eat with Mom, and when I'm out. Yes, the one I talked about yesterday, _The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife_. Then I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I did a little paperwork, and noticed someone advertising a giant monster, so I joined them. We took it down after a team had gotten together. Then one who'd done it advertised another giant monster. I joined, and this time stuck around, and we got two more giant monsters before splitting up for real. I also started talking with Nox on the chat world, and we had a nice, long text conversation. The monster-hunting team paused long enough at one point that I'd started to join another team doing a particular kind of individual missions before they started up again. When they really quit, I did join that team with the individual missions. We did several missions together before they broke up. Then I did a little paperwork before stating on my exercises, with comic reading and writing this in between, and later paperwork on City of Heroes: Homecoming, too. Then I slipped in one high level individual mission and continued to write this part-time. Then Perogies said hi, and we started to talk. Eventually, he started doing a mission for the stuff you can get from it and let me sit in while I finished this. I had to share it in the morning, though. {Smile}

Daily Update, September 27, 2023

    Before breakfast Wednesday, I found a text from nursing company. I could read to Mom if I followed the nurse's directions. This got me excited, since I've really missed reading to Mom. {Smile}

   After breakfast, I started to worry about something I noticed when I was sick, but just couldn't deal with on top of everything else: Val's right front paw had gotten distinctly swollen compared to his left front paw. He had a bandage on the paw that looked tight, so I took it off, thinking it might be reducing circulation. Then I realized I really should have called the vet first and called the vet immediately. The receptionist asked if I could bring him in tomorrow before she even talked to the doctor. That quick worried me a little, but not so much as when she came back and asked if I could bring him in at 1:45 (pm) today. I said I'd see what I could do and put the appointment into my phone's calendar. {grimace}

   Then I called Melanie but got her answering machine. I considered leaving a message but decided to leave that until after I'd called Alan, because I only had a few hours. (I never did leave that message; I'll have to try some other day.) {smile}

   Next, I called Alan, and explained about Val's appointment. When was it? 1:45 pm. He already had a ride scheduled for 1 pm, but he'd come straight to our house after that, and yeah... get us there by 1:45 pm. He promised. {Smile}

   He was at the house at a good time, and even helped me carry Val in his carrier to the car, which was great. Val barely meowed on the way down, which made chatting with Alan easy. I suggested that Val knew he needed to go, because he certainly can tell us when he doesn't want the trip. Alan agreed. {Smile}

   I had a fair wait at the vet, but then they took us into a room. the doctor came right in and asked about the paw. She asked if I had felt it, and if it was hot. No, but I managed to when she stepped out of the room. It was slightly warmer than his other paw, which I told her when she came back. She was relieved, explaining that if it was cold, he was losing it. We both agreed that with all his other problems, he does not need to lose a paw. {smile}

   She examined him as much as he let her. Then she took him and came back, saying he was down to 15 pounds. That's light. I think he's supposed to be between 16 and 17 pounds; we weren't happy when he was around and over 19 pounds, either. She promised me some medicine but had me wait in the lobby a while. When I'd gotten the medicine and checked out, I called Alan. He was in Kea'au, the village just south of Hilo, coming back from a ride. He would come pick us up next, but it would be a while. {Smile}

   I was enjoying a new comic book that came over the weekend, a manga called "The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife," about an invisible man who owns and runs a detective agency, taking advantage of his talent. He is always invisible and can turn his clothes invisible at will. This doesn't matter to his secretary, who, being blind, detects him by hearing and smell when he didn't think he had a smell. I wanted to talk to someone about it and found one of the gals at the desk who was willing to talk. She found it as intriguing as I did. Then she asked about what else I read. {Smile}

   I told her about how I don't read books sequentially, but skip around, following one group of characters, then going back to where I left, and following the bunch that started me skipping ahead. It means some parts get read a lot, because I'll do it more than once with the different groups of characters. I was pleasantly surprised with her reaction: she said it sounded fun and wants to try it. I suggested starting with the _Lord of the Rings_, yes, the one the movies were based on. I explained that in the first book, the characters pretty much stay together, but in the second book, he starts devoting some chapters to one group, and other chapters to others, with the second half of the novel dedicated to Frodo and Sam. This is a lot easier than most books, where you can't predict where they'll shift back, so I end up checking every scene along the way. {Smile}

   Alan came and got us, and took us home, with another nice chat on the way. Again, little meowing, thought that's more common going home. {Smile}

   Oh, and I got a short phone call from our former nurse after I got home. I did enjoy talking to him, very much. {Smile}

   I finally got to eat dinner with Mom today and I read to her before dinner, too. The nurse refused to tell me how far to sit or anything, so I masked up, and sat with the bedside tray between us. I got up and moved down the bed to show her pictures, but that got them so far away, i didn't do that much. I started with scripture and thoughts about it. Since I missed a few days, I started with Saturday, September 23rd's entry, then read today, Wednesday the 27th's entry.  Next, I read a Christmas card from her niece's granddaughter, and a Thanksgiving card from her sister. Then, I skipped the picture books, instead reading a poem and a short story from _365 Bedtime Stories and Rhymes_. Last, I ended with two stories from _366 Stories for Bedtime: A Tale for Every Day of the Year_. The first was _Blackberry Picking_, the September 23rd story. William and Sandra wanted to go pick blackberries for their mother, pointing out how much she liked to make jam. She thought it was too late in the season to find much but let them go. When they ran to their favorite field to pick in, they told each other there were plenty of berries, and started picking. William tried one, and declared they tasted good, too. they got back with only a few berries in their buckets, but lots of stains around their mouths. Their mother said it was lucky she'd already made plenty of jam. The second was _The Two Friends_, the September 27th story. Josephine the tortoise lived a quiet life in a walled garden. When the boy left the gate open, she went for a walk, thinking she was unseen. She walked into the woods, going this way and that until she was thoroughly lost. As she looked around, starting to panic, a polite voice offered to show her the way home. it was Hector Hedgehog, who'd noticed her leave, and followed at a distance, in case she needed help. He showed her home, and after that they visited as they could. {Smile}

   I did my head exercises, arm swinging exercises, arm resistance exercises, leg exercises, standing arm weight training exercises, and sitting arm weight training after feeding Val and paperwork after the evening team broke up. I ran out of time at that point, or I would have done my walking exercises, too. I definitely had the energy. I don't know about salsa dancing, but I'm hoping soon. {Smile}

   I read articles in the morning, and didn't hop into City of Heroes: Homecoming until after the nurse's phone call after I got home from the vet in the late afternoon. I soon found Perogies, who said come quickly to join the later long, large group event. I joined the group and chatted with Perogies until they started. We both ran it, and chatted briefly afterwards, before I left to read to Mom.

   After dinner, I hopped back into City of Heroes: Homecoming. I chatted first with the fellow who likes stories, but he was already in a task force. You can't join them after they've started. So, I wished him well. Next, I chatted with a fellow I'd met just a few days before the other. They're my two newest "global friends," as they call a group that's particularly easy to keep touch with. He was alone but looking at a fellow who kept asking for a group to run with. The three of us teamed up, and a fellow I think the friend also knew joined us. I got a character who has missions to work on, but when I got back, my new friend was getting ready to do a type of individual mission, so we did a series of them. Eventually, at least three of us changed characters when he was ready to change to a higher-level zone, including me. We ran similar missions at a higher level until I said I was leaving to do my exercises. However, I got caught up in paperwork and feeding Val first, which might be why I didn't get my walking exercises done, too. {smile}

Daily Update, September 26, 2023

    I had a few text conversations, but that was it Tuesday. {Smile} 

   The nursing company still didn't want me eating with Mom, and I admit I woke up feeling like it really should be at least one more day to be sure, myself. I mis it, and I miss her, and just hope she remembers me when I can finally get back to it. {resigned smile}

   I thought that yesterday, maybe part of the reason I didn't get more exercises done was that I started with my walking exercises, which are probably the most exercises after the salsa dancing. So today, I started with the easiest, and tried to work up, though there were breaks to talk with Kitten and Phonso, which made "too late" come before I'd done as much as hoped. I started with the easiest, and worked up, more or less, which means I did my head exercises, then my arm swinging exercises, my arm resistance exercises, my leg exercises, my standing arm exercises, and 2 of my 4 sitting arm weight training exercises before it got too late. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics in the morning and over lunch. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming when Kitten said hi after lunch, a little earlier than usual. I did a little paperwork, then joined Kitten and Perogies on the low-level characters we're working up together. I learned that Perogies had gotten two rewards, and a particularly nice reward for getting those and three other rewards. The particularly nice reward permanently improves the character. I thought we had to be a few levels higher, but he definitely had it. We teamed up, and I asked about improving our characters, too, but Perogies just wanted to run mission, so we did. {Smile}

   We ran missions together and chatted until suddenly my power went out. I looked things over, glad it was still late afternoon, with sunlight to light the room. As I was beginning to wonder about turning off my computer, the power came back on. My internet connection didn't come back until I turned my computer off and back on. While I was waiting for it to come back on fully, my phone beeped enough, I checked it. One of those beeps was a text message from our power company notifying us that power had gone out in our area but should be back by almost three hours from then. I just had to tell our nurse that before I got the computer running and got back into the game just in time for Kitten to tell me that Perogies had just left. I tried to message him, but he wasn't checking his phone. Knowing him, he was probably heading to bed. {Smile}

   Kitten also told me Perogies had made the next level while I was offline. We "street swept," meaning found enemies loose on the streets, and earned enough experience for both of us to reach Perogies's level. Then I got one of my high-level characters to help Kitten's low-level character get the badges Perogies had gotten, since Perogies had teamed with a couple of his own high-level characters on his other accounts. (Perogies has three accounts, though Kitten and I only one each.) Then we switched. I got my low-level character, Kitten got their favorite high-level character, and we got the rewards for me. {Smile}

   By then it was dinner time for me, so when I asked for something to do with a fork in one hand, Kitten suggested watching a couple of My Little Pony episodes. They meant to pick a two-part at the end of a season, but they picked the season shortened by a writer's strike, which ended with two unrelated episodes. That's okay. the first episode was about a part I'm particularly interested in, and the second was as challenging to the main characters as I'm learning to expect the beginning or end of a season to be.

   Then we teamed up on the slightly higher characters and finished the story arc we'd started last night. I meant to do one more mission, but between feeding Val and talking to Kitten, it really got too late. I started my exercises, and Phonso started talking to me. We got kind of involved, which slowed my exercises more than I meant it to. I wrote this and made notes, but this ran late, too. So, I was late to bed, and wrote most and shared it the next day. {smile}

Daily Update, September 25, 2023

    Well, I am feeling better. The gastrointestinal trouble seems to be gone. I've found my appetite again, and mostly gotten some cramps to calm down. My stamina isn't back, but I did get my walking exercises and my head exercises done, with a few extra of each, and some regular walking when I went out, too. The nurses and the nursing company still don't want me near Mom more than strictly necessary. It's frustrating not be able to read to her when I feel up to it, but I'd rather be overly cautious than give this to her. {Smile}

   I called cardiology after breakfast. It took a few tries to get them, but I eventually confirmed that an appointment I wasn't sure hadn't been rescheduled was indeed on for that day. So, I contacted Uber and went to my cardiology appointment after lunch. The driver was a new woman. We didn't talk much on the way over. I saw their nurse-doctor who convinced me into trying a diuretic on an as-needed basis. I got the same driver to take me home, and we talked a little on the way this time. {Smile}

   I read articles and comics in the morning and over lunch. Then I read some more after coming back from my appointment, until I felt going into City of Heroes: Homecoming. There, I found Perogies and Kitten. We teamed up on the low-level characters the three of us are working on together and finished the arc that Perogies and I had started the other day. Then they tried to level my character, since that alone hadn't caught me up, since Kitten and Perogies had both gotten to the level needed to start the next arc in these characters' main advancement. Perogies left when he got tired, and Kitten kept working until I caught up in level. {Smile}

Then we went to a bar in a "pocket universe," and Kitten snuck me out of the bar to take a tour of features usually only seen through the windows if at all. It took a few tries because I kept falling and getting teleported back inside, but eventually we got it worked out. We had a fine tour - a long one where we took pics for Perogies while I ate dinner, since I'm not eating with Mom yet. After that, we watched a My Little Pony episode together. Then we toured a badge I didn't have and needed. Next, we ran a mission we both needed. After that, we switched characters, and started a story arc my other low-level character I've been working on. After one mission, I broke to take care of Val, and took so long, Kitten had gone quiet when I got back. They later said they'd fallen asleep. So, I did some paperwork, and what exercises I managed to do. Then I read some articles, wrote this up, and chatted with Perogies when they came back on. {Smile}

Daily Update, August 24, 2023

    My gastrointestinal upset calmed down enough in the night for me to get better sleep. That was a relief. {Smile}

   The next morning, I really didn't think going to church would be wise, between the need to leave the plumbing for the whole ride down, and the risk of passing whatever I have to other parishioners and the Uber driver, too. No, that wouldn't be good, so I stayed home, and watched the 10 am service online. Or listened to it. Despite getting what would normally be a good night's sleep, I just could not keep my eyes open. I missed the peace entirely, but I think I heard the lesson, gospel, and much of the sermon. I may have to watch it again later in the week. {Smile}

   I took a longer nap than I meant to after that, and before lunch, which meant Val's lunch was later than I like, and mine was later than is quite safe. I did feel my blood sugar go nuts before I settled in and started... but part of that was having to deal with one last, bad gastrointestinal problem. I really haven't had more since then, though my appetite is not good. Lunch took long, and I didn't get a lot of dinner down at all... Then again, I haven't been active, either. I couldn't bring myself to do even my head exercises today, never mind the rest or the salsa dancing. I just don't have that kind of energy yet. {Smile}

   I didn't read to Mom, either. Both our nurse and the nursing company are encouraging me to keep my distance until this illness is past. {smile}

   I read some articles over my long, late lunch, and hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming when I was done. Then I hopped into City of Heroes: Homecoming and found Perogies pretty quick. He hoped to catch the later short, large-group event, but it appeared to be over. So, we caught the later long, large group event that follows. Yes, it can often be a bit boring, but not today. I was feeling tired enough, it was just about what I could handle. When we were done, Perogies wanted to hunt some critters. I found a character who didn't have as many as the game rewards you for and tagged along. I'd like to say I helped, but I think they carried me more than I carried them. We continued until they got tired and left for bed. {Smile}

   I read some articles and tried to read a comic that came recently over dinner, since our nurse thinks it's safer for Mom if I don't eat with her until I'm better. Then I looked around on City of Heroes: Homecoming and saw a task force starting up. We only got four members, but they ran it with that. I disconnected as we were starting the last battle, but I restarted my computer, and got back in time to get full credit for the task force. After that, I didn't see anything being advertised, not that looked al that long, so I did a mix of badge hunting, simple solo play, and catching up on comics which I read, since I somehow forgot to read them while I was sick. The Perogies came in and said hi, and we started to talk as I started to write this up. I'm really enjoying the talking, but it's time to share this at least in quick places and go to bed. {SMILE}