New Faucet & Lunch at Longway's Diner

 

New Delta faucet installed in the slop sink in our back shed. $58.32 from Amazon

Yesterday (Sunday March 12, 2023) I replaced the faucet on what we call a "slop sink" located in our back shed. These sinks are also referred to as laundry sinks or utility sinks.  Anyhow, back in February when the temp went to minus 20 below zero the faucet froze up. Upon thawing the cold water valve was leaking. I ordered a new one through Amazon. It cost $58.32. I ordered it after first looking for similar one at our local hardware stores, Lowes & Home Depot. What I got was a Delta brand. The original was a Peerless. Both are identical. Installation was a breeze, especially having done it before.

New Delta faucet, left, and old Peerless. Identical. 

After that we took a drive to Cape Vincent to check out the lake & river. Then to Depauville and finally Watertown where we decided to have a late lunch at Longway's Diner. I had a double cheeseburger and home fries. The Better Half had a beef bar b q with French fries. Bill came to $32.00 and change.  This outting was significant because it's the first time the BH has gone into a public place (other than Doctors office/hospital) since she broker her leg back on December 22, 2023. AND, she entered without using a walker or cane. 

Carthage Rehab, Food I Ate, What I Did Today

 So much has been going on. I wish I was disciplined enough to work through my tiredness and make daily entries. 

Acorn squash, seasoned and oven roasted. Later I'll fry it up with onions and Jalapeños.

The Better Half continues to recuperate from her broken femur and subsequent removal of blood clots in her lungs. Saturday, January 21, she was taken from SUNY Upstate Hospital to a rehab center in Carthage, NY. How that went is a story in itself.

This morning I roasted a couple of acorn squash in the oven to consume in a couple of days or so. I like to scoop the squash out of the tough skins and later fry it with chopped onions and Jalapeno Peppers.

I got my haircut at the Sportsman's Barbershop. $14.00 hair cut, very reasonable and a good cut. I alway give whoever cuts my hair a $6.00 tip. Worth it. I've been going there since I was in my 20's. 

I went to our Clay St apartment house where I'm using a vacant unit as  place to work. I'm staining & finishing a 12 foot pine railing to be wall mounted in the stairway of our Chaumont house. Again, this project is directly related to the broken femur.

This morning I ate a couple of avocados and a small frozen dinner that was courtesy of Aetna health insurance plan. 

This evenings repast. Shrimp, cocktail sauce, sliced avocado, Medjooli Dtes and Colby Jack cheese.

I visited the BH at the rehab center, getting there bout 4:00, leaving 7:30, home by 8:00.

Very hungry I finished the evening of with a Thomas Jefferson Ale from Yards Brewery. That was followed by a cup of chamomile tea and a plate of shrimp , cocktail sauce, sliced avocado, Colby Jack cheese and some Medjooli Dates. What a wonderful array of flavors and textures. 

Morning Moon Photo, Christmas Tree Down, & Notes

 

Moon at 7:30am, Chaumont, NY, sonny a6600 camera, Minolta 200mm f2.8 auto focus lens.

We took our Christmas tree down today. I should say I took it down. The Better Half watched me as she has limited mobility with her broken leg. 

Photo of the moon at 7:30 this morning, Sunday January 8, 2023, as seen from our backyard, Chaumont, NY. Temperature this morning was 14 degrees. The coldest night & morning we have had in more than 2 weeks. Most days we have had temps in the 30's and low 40's. The wood stove has been doing a great job, limiting how much heating oil we have been using. Price of home heating oil has been above $5.00 a gallon, and I have heard as high as $6.75 a gallon. That is insane. It was $2.00 a gallon in 2020 when President Joe Biden took office.

etter Half gets better every day as she heals from the broken femur. She as her low points of despair and frustration each day, but that's to be expected. 

Siblings a A & S dropped n this evening for about an hour. They arrived from Arizona after a 4 day road trip. S has new job in Utica, NY, starting in a few days.

Breakfast this morning was Italian sausage, fried eggs & toast.

This evening we had a variety cheeses & crackers, variety of stuffed olives, Croghan Bologna, sliced carrots. 

I Don't Want To Be Sick In The Hospital For Christmas

The Better Half with great grand daughter Winona, at 4:42, Adams, NY.
About a half hour later she would be sprawled on the ground with a broken femur.

 "I Don't Want To Be In The Hospital For Christmas". 

That was the mantra I heard from the Better Half, beginning probably some time around Halloween and leading up to Christmas. Her side of the family was to be here Christmas Day for dinner. 

The mantra came because a few years ago she spent 10 days in hospital over Thanksgiving. This year she was 4 days in the hospital a week or so before Thanksgiving. Her problem has to do with diverticulosis. An attack occurred and sidelined her for a couple weeks. She was able eat dinner without too much difficulty.

After that she was concerned with rise in cover and flu cases. Between that and the diverticulosis she couldn't help herself but to keep reminding me, "I Don't Want To Be Sick In The Hospital For Christmas". 

What could go wrong? Well, on Thursday, December 22 as we were leaving grandson J's apartment in Adams, NY she slipped on some hard packed snow & ice. She broke her right femur. Snapped in two pieces. It was scary and horrific. 

A misty rain began to fall. There was an approaching blizzard set to begin overnight. A once in a generation HUGE storm they said. 

Adams ambulance service was only a few blocks away, BUT, they were out of service. Had to send ambulance from Guilfoyle in Watertown. She was in pain, we both were scared, praying it wasn't a broken hip. J brought out 3 blankets. We wrapped them about her as she sat on the snow. She had me lean into her for support. 

This began at about 5:00pm. 13 minutes later she asked me to call 911 again. We were told the ambulance was on it's way. A few minutes later some firemen showed up to offer what they could in way of reassurance and comfort. Soon we heard sirens in the distance. The sound grew louder and louder and then they were there. It took about 25 minutes. 

The crew was excellent. The Better Half was scared but alert and listened intently to everything the EMT's had to say. She is a good soldier and follows orders, trusting in those she should. 

At 6:31 she arrived at the Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, NY. 

The emergency department nurses, doctors, technicians and support staff did all of the things they do and at 5:00am she was settled into a room to await surgery. That would take place later that morning at 10:30. The head doctor of the team that patched her up was Dr. Dave Leu a trauma surgeon. 

The Better Half arrives at Samaritan Medical Center at 6:31pm
with a broken femur, December 22nd. 

I Shovel Sidewalk Through Snowbank ; Day 7 of Broken Femur

Shoveling driveway at 807 Franklin St, Watertown, NY.  Working slow but steady I was finished a little less than an hour & half.

It is Wednesday December 28, 2022. The snow has finally stopped. There is a thaw coming. 50 degrees before the week in through. It is the 7th day of the Better Half being in the hospital recovering from a broken femur. She received some lovely flowers from my sisters today. The flowers should have arrives a few days ago but delivery stalled for those days because of the blizzard. This was first chance I had to shovel the snow on my daughter S' sidewalk. A plow truck cleared her driveway yesterday ad in the course of it created a huge snowbank that I had to shovel through. I started at 10:43 and never thought to snap a starting photo until 10:54, so the digging had already commenced. I finished at 12:09. That's about an hour and a half. I worked slowly and methodically. I chopped and crumbled the hard packed snow with a steel coal shovel. I then scooped up the resulting piles with a plastic snow shovel. My goal was to bare the sidewalk so the mailman could get from the driveway to the mailbox on her front porch. 

Shoveling driveway at 807 Franklin St, Watertown, NY.  Working slow but steady I was finished a little less than an hour & half.

Shoveling driveway at 807 Franklin St, Watertown, NY.  Working slow but steady I was finished a little less than an hour & half.

Shoveling driveway at 807 Franklin St, Watertown, NY.  Working slow but steady I was finished a little less than an hour & half.

Shoveling driveway at 807 Franklin St, Watertown, NY.  Working slow but steady I was finished a little less than an hour & half.

Christmas Eve at My Daughter's 2022

Christmas decor at daughter S' place. in Watertown, NY 2022

 

I spent Christmas Eve away from the Better Half this year, well, I should say not exactly. I saw her some of the day visiting her in the hospital where she was recovering from surgery to repair her right femur bone. On Thursday, December 23 she slipped on some snow and ice as we were leaving our grandson's house in Adams, NY.  By the time she was settled in the hospital a severe lake effect snow storm began and I was unable to go home. So for the next few day I was staying with my daughter S. More about that in another post.

Anyhow, it turned out to be nice spending more time with her than I have in a long time. Maybe ever. I really like how she decorated her place for Christmas. Christmas Eve morning she made great breakfast of eggs, home fries, bacon and toast. I had to shovel a great deal of snow to get out of the driveway. Hospital visiting hours begin at noon, so I was there at that time. Visiting hours end at 8:00 pm at which time I left. So I actually spent 8 hours with the Better Half.  Upon returning to S' house I had to shovel the driveway again as the snow hd been falling and blowing about relentlessly. After that I had a tasty beer, a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. S had to work overnight, but she works from home so she wasn't far away. I slept a good 10 hours that night. It was much needed.

Christmas decor at S' house. She is an artist but doesn't know it or believe it if I tell her.

Christmas decor at S' house. She is an artist but doesn't know it or believe it if I tell her.

Eggs and home fries. Missing in this photo was the toast and bacon. Superbly cooked It was like I was in a classic diner. 

My daughter S whipping up a great Christmas Eve breakfast. 

My daughters driveway looking toward Franklin St about 9:00pm after I shoveled it.

Finished the evening with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale that I had sitting outside while I shoveled snow.