I am amazed to find that hiking socks are making my blisters a non-issue. Seriously I have huge blisters on the backs of both heels and I don't even feel them. My feet are sore in general just from the abuse of suddenly doing way more walking than they are used to and my back is sore from carrying my docs and a much heavier than it needs to be leather organizer yesterday.

I recall hearing that if you want to lose weight you should work out every other day, that if you work out every day you'll bulk up. I doubt the amount of walking I'm doing (especially since I've wimped out and am taking the bus for the long leg of my trek) is going to make me bulk up but I do wonder: how long does it generally take after you start a new "work out" (gah I feel like such a wimp for finding walking so taxing) to stop feeling sore all the time?

Mucho ~ma for your dad, Calli.

They can get Owen into their Autism Clinic for evaluation next Tuesday.

I'm out of a job as of Friday. I can play tour director, if needed.

copious amounts of Dad~ma to you, Calli

Laga, once your blisters heal, you might want to look into blister block, by band-aid. It was great for preventing blisters when I started running, although you're not supposed to use it once the blisters are there. (Which makes me wonder, how do you know where to use it? I got blisters, waited for them to heal, and then started slathering the trouble spots.)

And thank you all for the ~ma.

If the healthcare system out here doesn't get their act together I'm going to cut a bitch.

Mom needs to go into a skilled nursing center for about 6 weeks. The advocate from the hospital is supposed to be helping up with this, but she really isn't. She gave us the name of one place, my sister called and they have no beds available until maybe next week. Problem is, the doctor wants to release mom from the Hospital in the next day or two, so that's a bit of an issue. Then this tool of a woman asks if we can transport mom. Um, no, mom weighs 200 pounds and can't stand, she actually asked if she could hop on one foot to get in and out of the car. The departments at the hospital clearly aren't talking to each other, and this woman clearly hasn't checked into mom's medical history.

Fuck them all.

Calli, lots of ~ma for your father!

Drew, check the hospital's directory and see if there is an ombudsman you can talk to about the tool. Sounds like you need a new case manager.

Sail, I'll be sending you an email about Tuesday!

Taking the Care out of Healthcare, I see.

I'm so sorry, ND. You and your near & dear do not deserve this shit.

...

This interlude is brought to you by desperately wanting to ensure the dear readers' heads do not spin off by the complete 180 in tone & subject matter between the two halves of this post.

Or something.

Look! A bunny!

Oh, fine. Interlude over.

...

IcompletelyON: Happy Belated Birthday Fay!

Ugh, ND. That's always a problem with moving from one type of care to another. Find out if they have hospice care on site until then, it may mean just moving to a different wing of the hospital or the nursing center until the actual bed is available. Different beds are allocated to different accounts. It's practically byzantine, the way these things can work.

She's not going into hospice, she just needs skilled nursing until her leg heals enough that it can take weight again. The orthopedic surgeon said 6 weeks of no weight on the leg for healing.

It's about a bullfight from the point of view of the bull - heartbreaking.

I could only catch about every fifth word, but the melody was so mournful.

If the healthcare system out here doesn't get their act together I'm going to cut a bitch.

Go for it-- we've had the same issues on this side of the country dealing with the Prince of Darkness. As Sail said, it's practically byzantine and adds another layer of stress to the family when they should be, you know, ALLEVIATING it.

Even more ~ma to you, Drew.