Saturday, January 14, 2017

[bearshorty]

Weekend in Long Island
Going to Long Island last Sunday morning to avoid the falling snow was a great idea as we had no traffic whatsoever and the roads were clear. We made record time. And then we gave Tanya a small shovel from the car and she had a blast helping her Papa clear the driveway.

It was super cold all weekend (which made this Wednesday with its 59F really strange). So we had some playtime outside in the snow in the backyard every afternoon we were there, but not too long. It was about 21F or (-6C), but my relatives in Belarus texted me that they were having -25C, so the cold wasn't as bad as it could be. Tanya did love making snow angels (and having us, including Grandpa Bill do them), and making snow soup. She did try sledding down a little hill in the backyard too, but she's not overly enthusiastic about it yet.

We stayed for three days and left on Tuesday night, after dinner. Bear went to work on Monday and Tuesday, so we were just hanging with Grandpa and Grandma, and occasionally with Aunt Carrie. I don't mind my in-laws, the stay was totally fine. But I am allergic to the house and/or cats and I can't take Claritin or anything now, so I just have to endure. Plus it's nice to be home with my own kitchen and bed and stuff.


Grandparents
The visit had some stress but not because of the in-laws. On Monday morning I get a call from my grandparents' home attendant. My grandfather is 89 and my grandmother just turned 87. They live in their own apartment, which is in a building for seniors, and a home attendant comes every day to help them with cleaning, laundry, shopping, cooking etc. She called me to tell me that no one was opening the door that Monday morning, so she called for help. It turned out that both my grandparents fell and were on the floor and couldn't get to the door. They were just being taken to the hospital and the home attendant was letting me know which hospital. My phone number was the only one she saw written down. I immediately called my Dad, and gave him the home attendant number and also the hospital info. He left work to check on his parents and also called his brother. It took a while for us to get all the info.

It turns out that my grandfather fell coming out of the bathroom the night before. He does have a walker but it slipped somehow. My grandmother, instead of calling for help, tried to help him and fell too. And then couldn't get up. Neither had their button on them. We really need to get their info with medications and phone numbers all organized. They are both fine. The hospital kept my grandmother for a few days just to make sure her blood work was fine and she wasn't about to have a heart attack. She is now in a rehab facility, which my Dad says is very nice. My grandfather did have to have foot surgery, which he had on Thursday, but he is recovering well. Next week he should be transferred to the same rehab center as my grandmother and they are trying to make sure my grandparents can share a room. (My grandparents have been together since 1952).

When my grandfather got to the hospital the only thing he really wanted was his Kindle, which my Dad got for him. And after he came out of surgery, he got distressed that his Kindle wasn't on the table nearby, but my cousin Anna reassured him that he was just in the recovery room and will get to his regular room, with the Kindle later. And my grandmother was trying to set up her nurse with her grandson (my other cousin) right away, so she was in good spirit.

But this was just one hectic week for my parents and a stressful time for all of us. At least I was somewhat useful even from far away, when I told my Dad that my grandfather had a list of his medication in a form of a letter, probably in his walker storage space, because he showed me that letter to translate for him before. So my Dad was able to find it and made sure the doctors got it.


Work Orientation
On top of that I had my work Spring 2017 orientation on Thursday. I emailed by director last week about when orientation was but I never got a response. I think I might not have used the best email address. I did keep checking the Sakai website for the course, but I wasn't added to it yet. Finally, I checked on Wednesday morning, saw that I was added, and was able to read the announcement that orientation would be on Thursday at 10am. That site sends emails with every announcement but since I was added only when the announcement was posted, no email for me. So it was good that I was super vigilant about it, although annoying that it was so last minute. Luckily my Mom was available to watch Tanya on short notice. My parents are also dealing with our renovations so sometimes they are too busy.

My Dad dropped my Mom off at 6:20am on Thursday morning, and then drove me to work on his way to work. But when my Mom called me in the afternoon, it turned out the contractor called my Mom to come over to look at something, so my Dad drove back to Brooklyn to watch Tanya and to work from my apartment which my Mom went to deal with the contractor for an hour. And after that they went to clean up my grandparents' place a bit. And the next day, they needed to take delivery of appliances plus visit my grandparents. My Mom was pretty tired and cranky.

I got to campus early on Thursday, so I used the few free hours to read my book and then to cross stitch. The orientation itself was only a few hours - nothing particularly new - but it was good to review and clarify some procedures. And to chat with some other instructors I barely see. We were done by 1pm, and I went to finally try the new place "Honeygrow" for lunch. It boasts all organic, natural ingredients. I had a noodle stir fry with chicken, broccoli, peppers and pineapple with sweet soy sauce. Super yummy. I got take-out and ate it on the train. It was a giant portion. If I was eating at home I would transfer it to the plate and eat maybe half, but with a container and deliciousness, I ate the whole thing. And bought orange juice once I got to my destination. I had a smaller supper, so I didn't feel too bad. Plus, it's nice to be pregnant and not worry about weight gain :) Definitely an advantage.


Entertainment
Books: I finished two books this week. I finally got done with "It's Hard to Be a God" by Strugatskiy brothers, which I didn't like as much as I did "Roadside Picnic" as it kept irritating me. And I read "Mary Poppins" by P.L. Travers. Well, re-read it, since I read it as a kid. But I only remembered the part with the twins being able to talk to animals until they were one - for some reason that chapter stuck with me. So it was like a brand new book. I enjoyed it very much.

Movies: We watched first half of "Star Trek Beyond" last night, will finish today - really loving it so far. Can't wait to see more.

TV: I watched Sherlock S4E2, which I liked more than the first, at least until the very end where the reveal made me roll my eyes a bit. I will watch the second episode of Grimm probably tomorrow.