Journal Entry 2

August 30 - 2024 9:05 PM MST

 It's been a crazy week. My mom has progressively gotten worse. It started with a fall on Tuesday night, when she was trying to get to the bathroom. Apparently she fell twice. And fractured her sacrum. She took a pain pill and went to bed.

The next morning she rang Jill and was then taken in to the hospital for X-rays. Jill stayed with her on Wednesday night, and when mom woke up she was thoroughly confused, saying things like "Where are Jeff and Juli staying?" or "Where are you staying?". Apparently thinking that she was in Bayfield.

On Thursday Jill bought her a smaller walker that was easier to navigate in her apartment. Mom seemed to do pretty well with that. She was able to dress herself, got around her place and seemed ok. Jill went home that night and mom stayed by herself. 

And then she fell again. Jill found out that she had taken an oxycodone and drank wine and some other booze she found in a mason jar by mom's bedside. She was taken to the hospital the next morning but they just discharged her sayin that the fall exacerbated the sacral fracture. But they took no images... 

While Jill as telling me this whole story, mom fell yet again. Sigh. She was taken to the other hospital there in the Loveland / Fort Collins area. And I'm not sure what's going on from there. Last I spoke w/ Jill she was hoping that she'd be admitted and then w/ that we could get her in Rehab. Which would be best for mom. 

Yeah, crazy week. As you might imagine I'm a bit distracted. I think I'm heading up to Loveland tomorrow to visit. We'll see how she's doing then.

Juli and I played some pickleball over off of Broadway and Wildcat. It was fun! We rode our bikes over, and played w/ a young couple (Steven and Kimberly). They were much better than we are, so we split the couples up. Steven and I won the first game, and then Juli and Steven won the second game.

Then Juli and I had BLTs for supper, sat on the porch and chatted, then watched a movie called "Irresistible", with Steve Carrel in it. It was written by Jon Stewart. I liked it.

Journaling

 Journal Entry (nothing to do w/ gaming) 

August 28, 2024 9:03 PM MST

I'm starting this as an exercise to keep in touch with my girls. Who are (or about to be) abroad. I'd like this to be stream of thought, but I'm sure that it'll take on some form or another as it evolves. So, here goes.

What has gone on? Well, my mother (82 y/o) slipped while heading to the washroom the other night and cracked her sacrum. She's in a lot of pain, but managing. My sister stayed with her the other night just to ensure that IF she needed help, someone would be available. My sister is the second coming of Mother Theresa if you haven't guessed.

Mikaila left this morning for the west coast (Oregon) and a wedding of a friend. In which she's a member of the bridal party. She'll return Saturday night, spend Sunday here, and then fly for Edinburgh on Monday, September 2nd. She'll be away for a year getting her masters in performance psychology.

While Ally, is away teaching at World Class Academy. Right now she's in BC with a broken Propane bike. I'm sure she's not happy, but in her voice message this morning she certainly didn't sound down. I was so relieved. Teaching suits her. And riding all over the world, well... yeah, that suits her too.

Juli and I are not empty nesters. We're still her. i.e. The nest's not empty. And of course we've got the two beasties (Mac and Freya). 

Work is tedious lately. We're pressured to get things done, and then the next week it gets delayed. But it's never us who pumps the brakes. So run run run. Turn around and run run run the other way. Ugh.

Game Portion

And I'm going to add some element of gaming to this post just to stick to the overall theme of the blog.

We're running Arden Vul with Castles and Crusades in celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons. Can you believe it? 50 years... And I've been there for nearly every step. (I started 48 years ago)

If you don't know what Arden Vul is, look it up some time. Or watch a YouTube called 3d6 Down the Line, of a live play of the game by a bunch of regular guys. (Not voice actors, or famous personalities, just regular people like you and I) Anyway, if you're into mega-dungeons and just well thought out settings, this is for you. This is probably the most incredible piece of work I've seen in all my years of gaming. It's stunning.

More to come...