Managed some of my church service today

 I managed a little of my Church Service today. Hopefully I can expand on that. The PSW comes right in the middle though and I need to let him in and then be ready to help if Ed needs me during that time period. Lifting him is a problem as his back bothers him a great deal and the method of lifting him by putting one hand under his bottom and the other in his armpit seems awkward to some. Hoping that his back strengthens. He is walking around more and that will help. 

Big washing day today; I try for a quiet Sunday but haven't succeeded in quite a while. Using our sharp blade to take some of the ice out of the laneway. I have pretty much cleared the top end but the bottom end is pretty thick ice but we actually have some warm weather coming so maybe a thaw! That would be lovely to have a thaw. The snow is pretty deep in the backyard. I haven't been out in the backyard really at all this winter. My daughter dragged out the snowshoes and has walked around quite a bit out there. There is a definite track. I am wondering if those huge marks have kept the racoon away as he/she hasn't been seen for several months now. 

Income Tax Time

 This year I am going to keep track of all of Ed's medications because a couple of them are not covered by his insurance. I hadn't bothered claiming that on his income tax but decided I should start doing that. It is cumbersome to keep all the receipts but I can see that the costs of maintaining my husband in the home will gradually increase over time although I never go shopping except for food and the drug store so that might offset it somewhat!

I would like him to be comfortable though so will work away at that. Keeping books is something I have done all my life so not really a big new deal. I just couldn't be bothered the last couple of years when he started into all this medication. 

Cleaning completed - just one day late

 Cleaning completed for the week! Amazed that I have accomplished it. The new chair is fabulous and saving possibly as much as six or seven lifts a day. Once the hospital bed is acquired that saves a few more. Someone needs to invent a toilet that lifts a person up as well. Then there is the chair lift and that needs a way to get a person off at the top or bottom that doesn't involve lifting at all. But the few lifts that are left are more doable. I do want to have a better chair in the kitchen. It does need to have wheels but needs a locking mechanism so will have to think about that for a bit. Other than that we are settling into good routines. 

Blood work will be done at home for a couple of months and then we will see if we can manage trips out. The snow did defeat us ultimately but possibly just the cold and the lack of a ramp. The ramp is in the planning stages. Probably we really do not want to move and gradually this house continues to accommodate us as it always has. Ed and the girls went off looking at new houses in Chapel Hill years ago now but for one reason or another the three of them couldn't decide to move and so we have stayed in this house for nearly 43 years now. We are the ones who have lived on this street the longest now; everyone else eventually moved away. We were thinking as we looked out one of the front windows that when we first moved in we could see the Ottawa River! That was a long time ago now. 

Rest day tomorrow and Sunday and perhaps I will make it to Church this Sunday. That would be nice actually. I miss going especially now that it is on YouTube. Going downtown is just too time consuming unfortunately and I will not be doing that in the near future for sure even after COVID; I rather think we will have an after-COVID life.

Just one day behind in my cleaning endeavours

Managed to complete the two floors by wednesday this week leaving me with just the basement and will do that Friday. Nice if I can keep that up.

The sitting/reclining/standing chair

The new chair arrived today for Ed and he thinks it will let him stand up by himself from sitting on it. He has tried it out a few times most successfully. That will save a number of assisted lifts a day for sure. Our daughter told us about the chair so we ordered one. 

Feeling very stressed today but hopefully will feel better tomorrow. My nervous disorder is in full command of me at the moment and I need to slow down and figure things out. I have lived with knowledge of my nervous disorder for nearly 46 years but the initial diagnosis way back then of Multiple Sclerosis is unlikely given my age and ability to recover. It is likely something less difficult to manage or if Multiple Sclerosis I have been lucky through the years.