Something wierd in the air here. Had a bizarre dream last night that my friend was preggers (she has 2) but only had 1 kid, so i assumed she was carrying the second and it was in the past, but we were in a different country and i was helping her move furniture. I rented a motorbike to transport the furniture cross country, but of course got to destination without any furniture strapped to the back of the bike...likely because it never would have fit there and why on earth would anyone rent a motorbike to transport a sofa and chair? There was also rain, frantic attempts at braking (likely resulting in kicking the cats repeatedly) and some odd commentary on visual art. I guess I ought to check in with that friend. Several coworkers also had bizarre, memorable dreams last night and yesterday we had super wierd calls.

Thanks Cass. How is your dad doing?

I repeat, I unpacked my last box.

I'm impressed! You are so far ahead of us.

Is there anything that does? Or, at least, what's the best thing for shutting out noise? The headphones do pretty well at shutting out the noise from the cars going by, but they're less effective for the band, and not really effective at all at blocking the sound of the dogs barking. (The neighbors have three dogs. All three of them start barking and howling as soon as the band starts playing.)

In the case of your residence, I would say, better insulation. You need to stop the sound vibrations from getting into your residence. There are a variety of things to stick in the walls between the studs, to put on the studs instead of standard wall board, or multiple layers of wall board. Lots of non-cheap things. I think you are a renter, so, not much that you can actually do. By chance, how well does your place keep out the weather? Is it drafty? Are the windows single pane, and you can feel the outside temperature? Weather insualtion is something you can ask for from a landlord and not be completely scoffed at. Noise insulation... not so much. Anyhow, here is a list of stuff that can be done to help: [link]

IOmeN- I forgot I wanted to do sheets and towels yesterday. And then remembered, oh yeah, it's all of 15 ish feet from the bed to the washer. I can do sheets and towels when ever I want, and started them! It hasn't gotten old just yet. Still loving it.

As for the hole in the floor update. The porch has made great progress. The subfloor is done, and one layer of concrete is done. He was doing water tests to make sure the water drained off the porch properly. If it passes that, then they can put another layer of concrete, and the finish layer of no-skid concrete on it. The bedroom section has the subfloor repaired. Not sure if it's 100%, but it looks good. Now they need to pour concrete, make it pretty, paint the wall, replace the modling around the sliding glass door, and clean up. Hopefully, it will all be done this week.

Probably I got unpacked quickly is because it's something I can do, can effect. Life is pretty uncontrollable and I can control my surroundings here.

How is your dad doing?

Not well.

Stepmom actually went on a short trip and so I stayed with him for three days (Thurs, Fri and yesterday my siblings took over midway through the day) in which there were a few nice moments. There were some really hard moments too. He ended up needing to go to the ER for fluids yesterday but they released him later. I was surprised. I was on my way home to pack new clean clothes and instead got to sleep in my own bed last night.

It's really hard watching him decline so much. And it frustrates him which I completely understand. He was always the smartest guy in the room. He'd be horrified at his life now. The physical limitations are huge but it's the mental impairment that breaks my heart.

He's not going to get any better. Every change from now on is going to be further down. So I am trying to prepare myself for losing my dad. And, really, I've mostly lost him already. I'm pretty sure that's not going to help.

Which is a depressing answer to your question. Sorry.

Oh, Cass, it's so hard, isn't it?

It's totally okay, it's the honest answer to the question. I'm glad you were able to stay with him, though, that's part of why you're there, right? But yeah, it's just not easy.

Oh, {{{{{Cass}}}}}. Please, don't be sorry. I genuinely wanted to know, or I wouldn't have asked. I'm sorry that things are so difficult.

I'm sorry Cass. That does sound hard.

Which is a depressing answer to your question. Sorry.

Don't apologize for this. You don't offend with your truth.

Cass, don't apologize! It's true, and it's so hard.

((( Cass ))) We are here for ya.

{{{{Cass}}}} You are doing such a wonderful thing, being there for him and the rest of the family right now. No one would expect that to be peachy. Nice that yr unpacked tho! I just finished unpacking my last box last week. Seriously, how many years have I been in this house??