My general contractor talked me off the ledge.

May 03, 2025

Happy Saturday friends,

Friday was one of those weird days where everything that could go wrong, did. My Aunt Katy (still in the hospital at that time) put in a Whole Foods order that I was going to go pick up and drop off at her house. I called Whole Foods and the woman was just straight up nasty to me. That was fun. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she said she was one, so I asked to speak to someone else. Eventually got the situation squared away.

Then Katy called and said they had completely canceled her order, no explanations. Bet I know who did that.

And of course, you know, the whole Katy sadness. She did get her peg tube in (a tube in her stomach to the outside so it can drain) but it was a worry. They couldn’t do it the normal way, they tried twice but her stomach has been pushed into her chest by the mass. Good God. So they opted for surgery. It was a success but they couldn’t get her pain under control. Morphine wasn’t doing it. A fentanyl patch wasn’t helping.

The work on the house was moving along nicely but Thursday and Friday the work seemed to grind to a halt.

Or, maybe instead, the grinding had moved to my jaws :-/

I was at the house on Friday and feeling pretty angry about life and had been telling Brad that I was worried that the house was falling behind schedule and I just wanted back in my house dammit.

And then Patrick, our general contractor, walked in and said, “Happy Friday!”

😳😤

Brad said, “She’s got some questions for you.”

I said, “Ok, let me start by saying I’m feeling pretty pissy pants right now and only a tiny bit is at the house situation. The rest is because my poor aunt is in the hospital and soon hospice and I’m just sad and upset and angry that this is even happening.

So, as far as the house, I’m concerned that we are two days behind, I thought painting was going to start yesterday or at least painting prep.”

He first said he was so sorry about my aunt and by the look on his face, I knew he knew what this feels like. He went on to say that he always pads the schedule and then he said, “I’ve got you.” What a nice thing to say. If you ever want to calm someone down, that might be the best thing to say. He went on to talk about his 2 family members who went through hospice and how awful it was for them, him, the family. How we do better by our pets. We talked about how less than 1% of people use it, in states that allow it. How we would like to have the option for ourselves someday. We just talked. And I was so much calmer afterwards.

Sometimes you just get sent the person you need in the exact moment you need them.

And after all that I talked again to Katy and they decided to send her home Friday evening, yay! But instead of going home under palliative care, she will be under hospice care by her choice. She thought it was time. Gulp. They did put her on a PCA pump (pain killer pump, push the button and get relief) and praise be, switched her to dilauded instead of morphine. Her pain is now under control!

•••

Earlier this week, I woke up from an amazing dream. In it Mom was sitting on a chair facing Katy in her hospital bed and holding her right hand. I saw her there but I was also at home on the phone with her. You know how dreams are.

She had called to tell me about the upcoming surgery to put the peg tube in. I was getting ready to go over to the hospital and had stopped somewhere on the way. ManChild was with me. He had wandered off in the store and when I found him he was talking to an older woman. I walked up to them and she turned around and it was my Grandma Hall! (Mom and Katy’s mom). She hadn't yet told ManChild who she was so l introduced him to his great grandmother.

I said, "What are you doing here!?" And she said she was on her way to meet Mom at the hospital to be with Katy.

Later I was in the shower and asked Mom, “Are you at the hospital?”

And she said, “I’ve been here since Katy arrived.” And that we don’t have to worry about the “when” of Katy dying because, “We all have her.”

Good.

THE RANCH:

I never realized how big Blue Herons were until we moved here:

This is in our hall half bath. I’ve never been particularly fond of it so since it has to be taken out to redo the hardwoods anyway, we are looking for something else. I’m thinking maybe an actual antique washstand with a sink that sits on top.

Once they took it all out, we saw more of the yellow that this house used to be at some point in its past:

I wish I could bottle this smell up and send it to you all! Honeysuckle…mmmmm…

I saw this idea on Pinterest:

So I went on Nextdoor and found someone who was giving away on old chandelier and plan on recreating this! I love it!

Tori and Cash, sharing a moment:

It’s that time of the year when the flies come out and bite the horses until they bleed! We use coconut oil on their legs, bellies, faces, ears, etc to keep them away for 24 hours. I’m amazed at how well this works! Here they are, all lined up and waiting for us to apply the magic: