Vacation Days

 I keep thinking all my time off for the year has been taken but then more and more things come up. Yesterday we got an invitation to go to a family gathering on the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Centralia with Lans dads family, then last night Lan told me his dad invited us to go Merrys house for Thanksgiving, and Lan agreed, telling me after I got home from work. 

I just want to be home. I don't want to go to work but I must, so I go. Right this minute I'm sitting here thinking about going back to bed but that's not happening either, since I have to get into the shower in 15 minutes. 

I have a part time shift at work right now with Thursdays and Fridays off, so Thanksgiving, my birthday, Christmas and New Years Day, all the holidays off. That's great, till I WANT the extra pay to pay bills and have enough to save for expenses and feed us. I'll have to find out what time Merry is thinking about having Thanksgiving and if its later int he day I could work a morning shift then COMP the free 10 hours of holiday pay to use at a later date.

In January we're going to be driving to California to meet up with Michelle and Guy and I'm excited for that, just a few days to mess around. 

I've got May 21st through June 13th, 2026 off for the cross state ride, a bucket list item for me. If I can't do that ride, I'll haul my mare with me down to Pioche and ride her in the desert.

Last night after work I went to a meeting with the 40 Something Cowgirls and they couldn't stop talking about how much everyone loves this one guy who lives in eastern Washington and is the best trainer and we should go to the cowgirl camp they have there mid-summer and only costs $1,600.  Right. I need a local trainer I can haul to that doesn't cost hundreds just so I can learn how to make my mare move forward. I don't know if this group is going to be right for me.

A Trip To Whistler, Canada

We've been invited to visit our cousins in Whistler, Canada for Thanksgiving for many years and we were finally able to make it there.

On the way up we stopped at the Britannia Mine and took the tour and it was pretty good. They do a 70 minute live guided tour in a haulage tunnel, then into the big mine building where they have a cute video with things happening inside the building, like the whistle goes off, a large trolly goes up these rails and steam and sparks fly.

This building is huge. They stopped mining here in 1971 and within a couple years they opened it up for tours, mostly for the kids to learn about mining.

They use a lot of the original tools and machinery, this train being one of them.

This is where we came out. I didn't take any photos inside.

After the tour we headed to the Hilton in Whistler for our 2 night stay.

We shared a room with Kari & Eldon; their 'kids' Joli and Jason were both there with their spouses and a bunch of kids.

These are Winter and Anna, Lan and baby Louie.

Louie is dang cute!

There was a bunch of family drama which made me a bit uncomfortable.

Kari is VERY self centered and easily angered and she just couldn't let it go, meanwhile Jasons wife couldn't let it go on her side either.

So Kari had made plans for her birthday with 3 of her friends to go to a resort for Karis birthday. Joli and Gelaine had made plans for a double baby shower since they both had new baby boys but they didn't invite Kari till 2 days before. Kari told them she had plans and she went with her friends, not to the shower so Gelaine was butt hurt and Joli was a little too.

The kids all think Kari is having an affair because she goes off on weekends alone often and never invites any of them. Kari says shes tired of having the little kids coming to her door all the time since Joli and her husband & their 3 kids live on Kari & Eldons farm.

Whatever it is, they all need to get over it. If Kari and Eldon have issues, its up to them to figure it out, not their kids.

We did have a good time, I got to hold the babies, they bigger kids we all super loud and obnoxious, the food was good. I did dishes a lot. 

After we got tired of being there, we left to come home but drove up toward the Olympic Park, which was closed, but we got to enjoy this sign.

It took a couple hours to get to the border and we came right through, then a few more house to get home. 7 hours to get all the way home with stops for food etc.

This is ALWAYS a good thing to see.

Lan wants to go back next year but I'm not so sure about that. Kari is high maintenance, shes a bully to her own kids and their families and the drama isn't how I liked spending my time. My PTO from work isn't easy to earn and wasting it on this crap is no fun. 

 

 

Another visit to our Pioche House

Here is our 'lovely' house in Pioche as we pulled up to it at almost midnight. 

We're both surprised that solar light is holding up. It's always on at night on a dim setting but as soon as it sees movement, it gets brighter.

Heres the front yard, growing a good bunch of tumbleweeds, there were about 50 bajillion of the dang things around the house. Lan said he's just spray them, but I wanted them gone as they are a terrible fire hazard. 

So, I pulled them by hand. 

We took at least 4 truckloads of them to the dump and that wasn't even all of them. I pulled them for a couple hours at least every other day, my hands were so sore.

Lan did work on the basement, installed LED lights, we got it cleaned up, he moved the freshwater line from the right side of this area to the left, attached some of the new PEX lines to it and has a distribution board set up and attached to the wall. We'll need a new water heater soon, even if we can't use it yet.

This is the old water heater and the pipes under the kitchen area of the house. This stuff is all going to be removed eventually.

This is going from the 'finished' part of the basement to the stairs that go to the house. The bright spots and open to the outside, so vermints can get in.

Since we're now making a truck payment, we don't have tons of cash to throw at this house, so we had plenty of time to explore. This was Condo or Condor Valley and it did not disappoint!

Brian Head in Utah was gorgeous with the fall colors.

I love Aspen trees

Another day we were trying to get back home before the storm came in but got a flat. Rain ended up getting us pretty wet.

This is inside the Jackrabbit Tunnel, last time we were there we only went to this deck area, we didn't go down the ladder. Down here there are SO MANY cool places to go.

Next time we plan on going much, much farther down that ladder, it goes about 50 feet farther before we couldn't see it anymore.

This isn't the best photo but here is a male tarantula I almost stepped on when I was entering a mine. I ended up screaming like a little girl and didn't go into that mine.

As we were getting packed up to come home, this happened. To the brand new truck, didn't even have 7600 miles on it yet. It was an accident.

Before we were 100 miles away from Pioche, Mora had found another tailgate for sale in Portland, Oregon so we went there on the way home & bought it for $300.  It's also from a brand new 2025 truck so matched perfectly.

Heres the leaving Pioche photo. I hope someday I'll have the opportunity to stay longer & not have a set date to leave.

 

 What a great trip!  Pioche didn't disappoint at all.

We left home Friday morning at 9am, stayed the night in Merrill, Oregon and arrived Pioche Saturday evening. Drove through a herd of elk on the highway 50 miles north of town, glad they weren't in the road at that moment, just on both sides.

We did some plumbing and lots of yard work. 50 bajillion tumbleweeds were growing in the yard; I pulled them most mornings for an hour or longer, took 4-5 truck loads of weeds to the dump and I still didn't get all of them pulled. By the time we're planning on being back they should all be grown again.

We did some relaxing too and a LOT of time in the sxs in the desert and that is the memorable things we love. Sunset in town then again watching it set again over the next mountain range.

Fall drives around Brian Head in Utah, amazing. 

Vacation Begins In 48 Hours

I'm very thankful for the new truck we got in May, this 2025 F-350.

Diesel, 4 doors, 12 cup holders, 4 wheel drive, A/C. Our previous truck only had 1 of those things, being diesel,

It wasn't set up for towing like they bragged, we had to put a lot of money and work into it to get it set up for that. So far, we've hauled Amble to Yakima and back and took the sxs out to Tahuya once and I'm happy to say it hauls pretty dang nice. Now we'll be hauling the sxs to Pioche, 1,000 miles, and we're confident it will go well.

Amble came home 3 days ago and I've ridden her but it was only a pony ride, she will not move forward for me. First I tried with the cheap Cashel saddle and it was a no-go, then bareback and that was much easier to stay up there. I definitely need a 3 step mounting block.

I've posted a bunch of photos of her with a cheap Wintec saddle that might fit OK but its not going to be the one I ride her in forever. I'm really sad the $900 saddle I really like doesn't fit.

 

Vacation Prepping

We'll be leaving home to go to Pioche in about 10 days and I couldn't be more excited.

I've been gathering necessary supplies and stacking them in the living room, I have 5 old kitty litter plastic containers that I'll use to transport our stuff, those containers and uniform size and shape, have sturdy handles and are waterproof.  I've got items ready to put into the containers but am waiting to see just how much stuff I'll have all together before I start stuffing. I already have one with food in it and I'll have at least one more.  I need to freeze a gallon jug of water to use in the cooler to keep things cold. So much to plan for! 

Lan has already begun working on some plumbing things; a distribution panel from hot water to different areas of the house. This consists of red and blue PEX pipe with valves and fittings mounted on a 2x4 piece of plywood; each one will be able to be shut off individually from the rest in case we need to shut off water just to the bathroom or kitchen.  There will be hot water to utility room, kitchen sink, bathroom sink and cold to same areas plus the back yard.

Thats one of the things Lan will be working on, I need to find SOMETHING I can work on while down there. If we had insulation rolls I'd be cutting it and stapling it into the walls but thats not going to happen yet. I do have cross stitch but I'm not going to use that 'work' and work.

In horse news: 

Amble comes home next Saturday. I'm going to have her harness there and ask Wil or Teresa to help fit it to her properly. I'm also going to borrow a saddle from Terry and see if it fits her. God, I'll need a saddle  more than anything.

I suppose I should start my Christmas Wish List, on it I'll need a nice buggy whip.

This coming Friday, the day before Amble comes home, we are having a yard sale, what I always advertise as the BIG ASS BARN SALE. We have a bunch of stuff already inside the garage, need to get it set up better.  Theres stuff all around the walls not for sale and we either need to move it all or cover it.  I have a ton of crap inside the house that I'll take out Thursday night and set out. I need tables and they need to be clean.  There are 2 picnic tables here, a round patio table and a tiny cafe table. I should sell both those last ones, or take the cafe table and its 2 chairs down to Pioche since we only have a couple camping chairs there now.

 

Read My Previous Post First

This morning, I woke up with a VERY SORE throat. It feels like there is something stuck in it, and I can't get it out and it hurts like hell when I try. The previous times I've gotten anything out it was bloody gobs of ick. I feel like the anesthesiologist used a throat tube much too big for my throat and she just crammed it into me anyway. The previous 2 times I was under it hurt but not nearly this much.

I've already called in sick to work and will do it again tomorrow.

We had planned on having a BIG ASS YARD SALE this weekend but neither of us is ready nor feel like it. Maybe next weekend but probably next year. I'd rather just donate all this stuff.

Because I'm not feeling well my defenses are down and I feel emotional. I kinda want to go to bed and lay there and cry for a while but that would just make my throat hurt more.

 

ARCP #2 Is Done

 Yesterday I had my second ERCP procedure, they removed the stent that was in the bile duct into the stomach area.  It was placed there July 2, 2025.

This is a picture of MY insides.

I had some discomfort immediately after the procedure and when Tylenol didn't help much, they gave me fentanyl. I was high and very, very sleepy. As far as I know, it's the first time I'd ever been given that drug and its WAY better than morphine but I would never let myself get hooked on it. I'd sleep through my whole life. I was so sleepy that after I got home I had a 3 hour nap.

As for other side affects, there haven't been any, yet. I do expect that I'll have some tomorrow morning and I'll need to call into work to get the day off and I suspect the next day won't be much better.

The ONLY person who called to check up on me was my farrier. MY FARRIER. What a great guy.

In other horse news, I haven't heard much from the trainers but every time we go see Amble she is doing well. 

Bad news is that Kitsap County has some hair brained idea that ALL horse facilities and farms need to be eradicated from the county and everyone will need farm plans, no equipment can be seen from the roads, all infrastructure (barns, sheds) have to be 50 feet from the property lines and all paddocks have to be 200 feet away from property lines; our property is only 160 feet wide by 1400 feet long. There is a meeting at the courthouse Monday night that we're going to go to, along with a LOT of other horse people from the area. This is bullshit on the counties part and we're damn mad about it.

Another Vacation Just Around The Corner

 We'll be heading to Pioche again in just a few weeks, leaving here as early as September 18th and not having to be back before October 4th. Between then and now I'll be working full time and I'm sure OT as well, and I'll be forced to work other docks. I greatly dislike working the other docks, I don't know those jobs as well. The 'Triangle" of Southworth, Fauntleroy and Vashon Island are all confusing on the best days and when you throw someone like me in the mix there is a good chance of fucking shit up. Stupidvisor Phil made sure to fuck with Tim and I by making me go to Fauntleroy yesterday and Tim is at Southworth today. There is NO reason to do that besides their POWER. Irene told me it's because those docks had a lot of over time this summer, so I told her so have we, shit Tim and I had over 24 hours in the last 2 weeks, 15 by me. 

I simply do not want the stress of working other docks. Night before last I didn't sleep well, was awake every hour fretting if I had missed the alarm and was late catching the fucking boat; Thats not healthy. Then when I did get to Fauntleroy it wasn't warm at all, the predicted 80* was a FUCKING LIE and I froze my ass off because I'd taken just my vest, not a coat. 

So I need this vacation.

Between now and then, I'll have a lot going on. Tomorrow I'm working the Bremerton morning sellers shift 4:15-2:15 and after that I have to start getting ready for my medical procedure Friday morning. Getting ready will consist of a shower in medicated soap tomorrow night and no eating after 11pm. I can have water to drink up until 4am or so. I'll have another medicated shower in the morning, then have to arrive at the hospital by 8am.

What is an ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography)?

• This exam involves the use of a slim, flexible lighted instrument called an endoscope is passed through the mouth and through the stomach into the duodenum (the part of the small intestine that is closest to the stomach) to examine the opening of the bile duct (the tube that carries bile from the liver and gallbladder into the small intestine). A thin tube (catheter) is passed through the endoscope and inserted into the tubes (ducts) that lead to the pancreas and gallbladder. A special dye is injected into these ducts, and x-rays are taken. This helps the doctor see stones, tumors, and any areas that have become narrowed.
• The exam is performed under sedation to minimize gagging and discomfort during the procedure.

 

This is my second ERCP, to remove the stent they installed 2 months ago. I was asleep for that and will be asleep again. I'm sure I'll feel just fine afterward. 

I'm sure the stupidvisors will find work at the other docks for us to do in the next week and I'll do it but only to bring in a paycheck. I will not go above and beyond for anyone. 

Next weekend Lan and I will have to go pick up Amble from the trainers in Granger and I am looking forward to that. Mostly I'm looking forward to having her here so I can ride her.  When we do go to pick her up I hope to get a couple whings done, 1 is another lesson for me and another is to get her harness fitted to her. Shit, I don't even know if it will work with the cart I have for her.

Then 1 week after that is VACATION. I barely have enough time to make plans!! We aren't going to have loads of cash for doing all the work we'd like to do so we'll do a little work and spend a lot of time on the sxs. We haven't done that a lot lately and that's important to us, its WHY we bought a house in Pioche.  I want to some day take it to the Arizona Strip 

and ride all over Utah and much, much more of Nevada.

Labor Day Weekend

 I have two appointments at 11am today, one with a new dentist office and one phone call with the anesthesia office. I hope I can wing it for the phone call.

I have no plans other for the weekend, not even working, yet. This last 2 weeks I've gotten 15 hours of OT with OT the week before as well and that's straight back from surgery and extended medical leave. My check will be nice but it's exhausting working so much.

We had a shift bid for the Fall season (September 21-December 21) and I have chosen a 30-hour PT selling shift instead of being on-call this time around. I can sleep in every day, still feed all my animals and get home in time to feed them again. There is potential for a few more hours and I could potentially work another shift on my days off. If this doesn't work out financially for me, then its only 3 months and I can go back to oncall but I'll be expected to do graveyards a lot. If thats all I would have to do it wouldn't be so bad but mixing them up with 4am and 2pm starts is fucked up. I've offered to do the graveyard if they extend it to five 8's but 'we can't do that'. Well fuck you then, no one will do it.

Next Friday I have the procedure to remove the stent from my bile duct and there's probably no issues to be expected. Unless my stomach decides to over react to the non regulated bile or something?? That will be done on Friday September 6th. The following week we will need to go pick up Ambleside from her 3 months of training. I'll probably get a lesson with Wil at that time. I will FOR SURE ask them to help me fit the biothane harness to Amble so I wont be guessing.  I should ask what size shafts Amble will need so I make sure the ones on the cart are alright. I did tell Wil that they should sell me one of their marathon carts since they have so many. 

 Clay Maier is the trainer and I heard the other day that hes really sick and the lessons have been totally cancelled. He got sick in Boise and was admitted to the hospital where he had a stroke. I do hope that he's going to recover and continue as he had been before.

We drove 190 miles to see Amble and pay for her final month of training, the final $1,100. I've now got $6,600 paid into her for training, not counting the cash I paid Nina since she didn't do shit for/to/with her anyway. It was already 93* in Granger so I didn't take any lessons, we just gave her some loving.

Then we were on our way up north 200 miles to Leavenworth and beyond, to Index. There, we left the road and drove up to a gold mine and explored that. I don't recall the name of the mine but like all Washington mines, it had water in it, everything was slimy and it was chilly inside. We did see lots of Iron Pyrite so it had shiny stuff.

After we explored that mine we tried to find another trail to a second mine. We knew where the mine was but it was high up on the side of the mountain, only a mile as the crow flies but probably 2-3 with the downs and ups and switchbacks. It was already 6pm, it was only about 73* here but I was getting eaten alive by bugs so we decided to return another day.

That lead to another 100 miles to drive home. We had left at 8:45am and got home at 10pm. A long, nice day spent with Lan. 

My pay check showed up Friday and I was glad to see it was the full amount.  I have another procedure in 10 days to get the stent removed from the Gall Bladder issue and I'm hoping I wont have to miss any work due to that. 

Lessons?

Amble and I were supposed to have driving lessons with a guy flying in from the Netherlands Friday evening and Saturday morning, but they got changed to Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. I had to change work, had to use PTO, which I'm stingy with, and got a call that the guy has been sick and isn't coming yet. As of right now, we don't know when he might come over. As for work, I picked up two shifts, today and tomorrow 2-midnight and I'll end up having 8 hrs OT for the week. Last week I got 7 hours OT and I'm going to need to take it all as pay since I am so strapped for cash. 

I *might* get paid Friday and IF I do, I have all the money already going to bills and probably not enough cash to save towards our vacation in a month. Good news though, I *think* I might only owe another $155.

HORSE NEWS:

I have a $900 saddle I need to sell so I can get another one that fits Amble. This whole set cost me $1,250 and it's rare that anyone wants to pay good cash money for an XW saddle, rarer that someone will be selling one that is WIDER and God forbid, matches the accessories I've got. 

While in the tack room today I saw Joeys saddle, don't know if I can EVER sell it; there were a lot of miles with us riding together in the mountains. His is a cheap western Cordura that I paid $400 for in 2000. Once stolen, after I got it back I wrote my name on the cantle in thick sharpie so no one else will ever want it.  Wifi has a nice Bates dressage saddle and even though its got an adjustable gullet it will never be wide enough for Amble but I could probably sell it for $800 with all its accessories.  Theres also the Pessoa I rode Joey in but it needs cleaning up and I'm sure even clean I wouldn't get more than $200 for it now.

It's A Hot One

It's been hot today but it has been for a few days.

Summer, the weather I love, is here and I'm inside the house enjoying the A/C.

Don't tell anyone. 

Black Orchid Ambleside

This was the trucks maiden voyage with the camper and I'm happy to say it did OK.

We got a late start and arrived at the area we like to boondock well after dark, so it was a bit difficult to find a spot. We did check out Kaner Flats but it wasn't on the river side of the road, and they wanted $10 to camp and I almost paid $40 because it was dark & didn't notice till the next day that I had put two 20's into the payment envelope. It's a good thing we didn't stay at that campground.

So this is the view we woke up to.

Our morning lesson with Amble turned into an afternoon lesson so we had 6 hours to use. Lan decided we should go check out Boulder Cave (it's only $5) and after the Ranger said it's reservation only, he said there was an opening so took our money and let us go in. There were only 2 other families there the whole time. It's a short cave, maybe 100 yards long and pitch-black inside. Its got bats but we didn't see a single one, since we forgot to take flashlights and my phone light sucks. But we still enjoyed the trek.

This little guy was on the hand rail of a walkway and we're sure he was trying to not get eaten by the Garter Snake that was hanging out below him. We left them both alone.

And, at 3pm, we got to see Amble. 

I got to drive my own horse!!!!!

I have a long way to go with driving but I hope I don't do her, or me, any harm. I definitely need to begin to use weights, my arms and hands were sore after I was done. And my feet were tired after being on the back of the cart for most of the hour from leaning to the outside of every turn.

 

Days Away on A Mini Vacation

 I have a lesson on learning to drive Amble tomorrow morning and I'd like to do it as early as possible, as its supposed to get up to 91* over there. We have decided to go camping tonight so we won't be driving for 3.5 hours at 0'dark:30 in the morning to get there.

I've checked out a bunch of the camping areas around Yakima and a few of them are on the Canyon Road between Ellensburg and Yakima, I don't know if I'd want to camp at any of them. The day use is OK; camping is only $5-$15 but the people are sketchy. They'd probably end up partying all night & we'd get no sleep.  There is the Sunnyside RV Park and it's still reasonable at $37 per night with electric and a pool but we'll be there too late to swim and leave too early to swim.  I did leave a reservation request with them so if the guy calls back, I'll ask about late arrivals, since we wouldn't get there before 10pm.

I'm excited yet nervous to drive Amble and to ride her. I'm not nearly as good a rider as I used to be and I've never driven besides one single time. This is why I need to go over, to learn to drive.

Paid Family Medical Leave

 I don't know where you're from but here in Washington we've been forced to pay into a long-term care insurance for the last 6 years. They didn't ask us to vote on it, we don't even get a choice, it's been forced on us since the beginning. Now I am able to take advantage of it.

I didn't know about how this worked until after I got sick with the gall bladder issues but coworkers told me that I could get money. So, after I got onto FMLA I started trying to figure out the Pain Family Medical Leave, PFML. It was a pain in the ass, the website is through the unemployment office, and it was hard to figure out, especially while I was sick and in pain, stressing about making payments to bills let alone all the medical bills. It took me 3 weeks to get it all figured out but FINALLY I got the first payment, which was 2 weeks at once since I'd taken so long to do it. 

I was able to pay bills plus since I'd received a week on a regular paycheck, I had enough to buy 3 tons of hay for the horses too. I get a payment each week which is great but trying to figure out this new budget has been very difficult. Then last week I accidently made an extra truck payment which wasn't needed and then I had zero money for medical bills. So I stressed myself out even more over that. 

I should be getting another payment tonight at midnight and with that I'll pay the internet and Pioche house payment. I suppose I should pay that fucking electric bill too and that fucker is $300. UGH. I have to pay $30 for a pair of used riding breeches since the ones I have are size 7, from when I was fit. I'm going to be going over to see Amble on Thursday night, taking a lesson on her Friday morning.

Pacific Ocean

We went for a drive yesterday to Ocean City on the Washington Pacific ocean coast. It was about 65*, overcast with no wind, so a perfect day. We left home at 9:40am and drove thru Shelton to get there. Stopped in Hoquiam for burgers and a little drive in and they were GOOD, along with the garlic fries. MMMMM.

Got to the beach at about 1 and took a long walk north, into the area where cars aren't allowed to drive on the beach. They have the dunes closed off so the birds can have safety for their nests and no fires allowed. We had Clare with us and she was really good, on and off leach but when 2 other dogs approached us she was on guard. Good girl.  We noticed a LOT of dead crabs on the beach, not killed by birds, just dead & upside down. No big fish were seen.

We walked a couple miles before we turned back and once to the car we drove down the beach about 4 miles to Ocean Shores and took a turn through town. They're having a Harley thing so there were lots of bikers already in town and a lot more driving toward the beach as we were driving home.

It was a perfect day.

Healing And Feeling Well

 I saw the Doc 3 days ago and she said I'm good to go and can return to work and I'll have no restrictions. My return date will be Sunday August 3, so I do have a little time before I have to go back. This gives me time to go a little yard work and this morning I cleaned out about 1/5 the chicken coop. That shits heavy and the shovel is heavy, and the manure cart has a flat so I couldn't fill it all the way. 

I can't eat anything like strawberries and beans (I have though) but I can begin to test other foods to see if my body will tolerate them. Last night I ate half a chicken thigh, no skin, some mashed taters and gravy and a bit of corn. I did get back pain, so I know I over did the fats, but dinner was yummy. Today I'll have another piece of chicken with lunch, probably with some sort of chicken soup. Chicken legs & thighs are considered a red meat so have a higher fat content. I'm sticking to a constant weight and am NOT going to let myself get fat again. I know now how to look for fats and I know I can get by with a proper portion size, I don't have to eat the whole thing in one setting.

One thing that HAS been bothering me is that my eyes feel like I've touched the lids with stinging nettles; I haven't but that's how they feel. I've taken Dayquil yesterday and today and that helps so it's just allergies. I dislike taking any drugs now, I read that they're all related to dementia so I'm just trying to stop that BS from happening to me. Lan doesn't need me to end up like his mom.

Joey has been losing weight and I'm sure it's because Amble isn't here. It took him about 5 days to get over her being gone in the first place. He's 29 years old; I don't want him to be skin & bones going into winter. Wifi is fat and limping but getting around well enough. Amble will be at Teresas in training till mid September and after that I'll have to start riding her myself to keep her going. I'll have to join the saddle club again so I can go over there to ride in their big arena. 

Smoking A Roast

We rarely get to see my son & his girlfriend, they only live about 25 miles away but we hardly go there and they hardly come here. Today we're smoking a huge pork roast and they're coming over to help devour it.

BUT, 

the regulator on the smoker has gone out and wont keep the heat up. 

So Lan is off to find one.

The roast weighs 7# and its been in it for almost 2 hours. Its going to take at least till 4pm to fully cook it so time is of the essence. 

I've got potato salad in the fridge, I'll open a can of baked beans and probably make a pasta salad as well. R2 & Sarah will bring Kings Hawaiian Rolls or something like them to make sammys with.

I'm already hungry.

 

More Bullshit

 I've been waiting for 3 weeks to get paid from PFML (paid family medical leave) for my stomach issues and finally figured out the card was already here but I didn't know it. Now I have the card all set up and THERE'S NO FUCKING MONEY ON IT. Those assholes owe me 2 weeks pay already and not a goddamn dime. My regular paycheck showed up in my account today and its only half what it should be, so I can pay about half my bills. FUCK.

The power company wants 3 times the 'budget' amount, I have to make a house payment and I have to pay the horse trainer. No matter what the horse trainer is getting paid first. The fucking bank can repo the truck for all I fucking care at this point.

I've been in too much pain, received too many doctor & hospital bills, had to deal with stupid websites that are utterly ridiculous to navigate, dealing with the PFML that doesn't return phone calls, doesn't answer if I call and doesn't answer emails. Almost zero communication with them.

I just can't do this shit right now but now that I'm physically feeling better its been long enough that I HAVE to deal with this shit. 

An Interesting Week

 I ended up in the hospital for 3 days.

Last Friday was June 27 and on Tuesday, July 2, I was back in ER and admitted into  

St. Anthony's hospital in Gig Harbor. 

I had been puking and losing an alarming amount of weight so called Lan from work to come get me. I was scared but it was the right decision. I was jaundiced and weak. They gave me IVs and pain meds and it was more than 24 hours before I was given any food.

They gave me an ERCP, which stands for Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography, is a procedure that combines endoscopy and X-ray imaging to examine the bile and pancreatic ducts. It can be used both for diagnosis and treatment of issues in these ducts, such as blockages from gallstones, tumors, or strictures.  They installed a stent into the bile duct which will remain there for 2 months, then I get that removed via the same procedure. 

I'm on the phone hoping top schedule another ERCP to remove that stent.

Friday September 5th is the appointment. Glad to have that set up.

Glad I didn't die.

Post Op 10 Days

 My gall bladder was removed 10 days ago and I've had good days & bad days but yesterday was exceptionally bad. I'd been feeling a little off for 2 days then suddenly yesterday at about 11:00, while walking through Costco, I had a ripping feeling inside, it felt like my belly was expelling the alien from the movie.

I could barely get out of the store, it just kept getting worse 

and I told Lan I needed to go to ER RIGHT NOW.

I sat outside while he got the truck and the ER was right next door so we were there in minutes. 

Then everything slowed down. This is a brand new hospital, they're using it but its not even completely finished being built. We had to sit and wait for an hour and the pain had mostly subsided before they finally took me back but 'Didn't have a room available' so I was put in a bed in the hallway, bed #61, and left there. A new guy/student came to do an ECG but he fumbled so much. They had put a privacy screen around me but if I was able to see people all around me then they were able to see me. Stupid kid didn't even bother to lower my shirt when he was finished. This was at 1:20pm

Meanwhile there had been a large car crash on the HWY so there were EMTs, firemen, cops and tons of injured people all over the place.

Doctor Ashley chose right then to finally see me and he didn't listen very well and didn't follow through with any of the things he said about me. He told them I'd need a CT scan and that happened at 1:44pm, then back to the hallway. He also said I should be in a room being monitored, 'ANY ROOM, CLEAR ONE OUT' is what he said. Then he said I'd be given morphine for the pain. I was never put in a room and never received any pain meds.

Doc Ashley returned at about 3:15pm, told me my labs had come back and I might have passed a stone, there is fluid in the area the gall bladder used to be in and my liver has issues so no more Tylenol. He prescribed an antibiotic and said I could go home unless I wanted to stay there. LOL. Hell NO.

We got out of the hospital at 3:45pm.

We came home and I had discomfort from bloating and gas but was so much better than earlier. I took an Oxycodone at 7:30 & at 9:30 realized its Tylenol so SHIT. 

Its the next day, Saturday, 6/28/2025 and I woke up feeling better. I'm only going to eat foods with super low or no fat, as I have been, and be sure to walk for 5-10 minutes every hour. I've got peppermint tea and ginger tea that should help with bloating. The prescription hasn't been filled yet and I've been waiting for them to call. 

I have a doctor appointment with Dr. Pai on Monday morning and I will ask for AT LEAST another week off work. I did say I was going to milk it but geesh, not by being sick the whole time.

5 days post op

 I'm now 5 days post op and feeling better than I had been before the surgery. 

They had me arrive at 10am and said I'd be going back to surgery at noon but the OR was ready at 11:30. The anesthesiologist was just chatting when I went out & then I woke up. 

I think I was home at about 6pm.

Thursday Lan had the day off and I was all drugged up and slept most of it. I did have to have a talk that its HIS JOB to feed me and its NOT OK to leave at 11am and be gone till 4pm. 

Friday I was drugged up and sleeping when he left to take the new truck in for needed work. The appointment was in Issaquah at 1pm. Lan left at 9:30 to catch the 9:55 ferry to West Seattle. Brandan came over for a bit, but I was still sleeping and he left. Lan didn't get home till 6pm.  I had had to fix my own meals and take complete care of myself. I was mad. I was on drugs but still in massive amounts of pain.

Saturday I told Lan he WILL STAY HOME with me all day and he did. Still on drugs but instead of an opioid, I took Tylenol , still pain but not as bad. I took opioid for bed.

Sunday we had free passes to the Summer Comic-Con at the Puyallup Fairgrounds so we borrowed the wheel chair and went there. I wasn't on any drugs, didn't want to be sleepy all day. We saw a lot of costumes, there were about 1/4 of the celebrities there that had booths for signing autographs and getting photos but mostly it was a place for hundreds of vendors to sell their junk. We had vendor passes and found that lady and returned them to her. She said she pays about $2000 for the booth for the duration and will make about $6000-8000.  She sells Pokeman toys.  Its all ridiculous to me what people will spend their money on.  LOTS of costumes including fat assed girls with their asses literally hanging out, cellulite and all. UGH. 

Still Sunday, we left the fair grounds and drove east, to Enumclaw. Lans family was going to have their annual 'Carole birthday party' at Freds place and that was fun.  I sat my butt down & tried not to get up again but I did have to push Severin and Aiden into the pool. There was a BBQ and pot luck and once again, Lans cousin Kendall showed up with no food to share and an extra teenager to feed. Shes notorious for that and I'll never invite her again unless I specifically tell her what to bring. We left the party after the food, a couple hours after arriving. I was tired but really just wanted to go home. 

Monday, today, once again not on drugs. I weigh 175# this morning. I haven't pooped in 6 days and the pain meds have me backed up but hoping I get lucky. LOL. I'm scared to try because that WILL hurt. SHIT, had to go, ran upstairs, almost didn't make it.