Flu Quarantine Lifted!

CNA Aladin got Dad in to his wheelchair bright & early this morning; he had breakfast at the Nurses Station. We found out the 3rd floor has been declared flu-free, so all activities are now back! So we went upstairs for the Group Exercise session; Dad participated half-heartedly, I stayed nearby but out of view so he couldn't tell me to take him back to his room. I made him also stay through the EBB Tides concert.

Breakfast at the Nurses Station.

Group Exercises.

Dad listens to the EBB Tides.

From previous experience, we knew that Dad liked the Namaste massage sessions; he especially likes the reclining massage chair that he gets to sleep in when they are doing the massage. They told me when he initially got there he said he didn't want to do it. But when they told him that I wanted them to give him a massage, he said, "OK, whatever she wants me to do". He enjoyed it, of course.

Dad at the end of the Namaste session.

While Dad was getting a massage in the Namaste session, I walked down to Maunalani Park. The weather was great, overcast, and a little drizzly. On the way down I got a good look at the rock wall that is being built across from the park; it's amazing! I also saw a cattle egret on the hillside below the park; it looked like it was in breeding plumage, which looks like it has been rolling on its back in the red dirt!

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

When I got back from my walk it was still too early to pick Dad up from the Namaste session, so I went out to the Wellness Center Courtyard. That's the area I have been calling the outside patio or something like that; I just learned all the official names which I will start using from now on. At any rate, I went to the east end so I could look out at the ocean and think about diving again. I don't know if I could live at Maunalani if I had all my faculties; I would always be looking out at the ocean, wanting to go diving every day!


Dad had lunch out on the 2nd Floor Lanai again. Up at Maunalani it was raining, but we could look down and see sunshine! It was raining so hard, it was running down the ramp from the 3rd floor dining room and through the 2nd Floor Lanai.

Looking through the rain at the sunshine down below.

Little stream of rainwater flowing through the lanai.

Zhanna came by to take Dad to the gym for physical therapy. With her help she was able to get Dad to stand up 3 times. He is not standing as well as he did before he had the pneumonia; hopefully he will be able to regain that strength soon.

After Curtis arrived, I went for a 2nd walk; I need to burn more calories since The Roommates moved in! (More on that later.) This time I saw a pair of cattle egrets that looked like they are in breeding plumage on the field at the park; as I approached they flew off towards the northeast. On my walk back up I noticed they were in the forested area of the park. There were enough trees I was able to sneak up on them more. I noticed they were close to Wilhelmina Rise on the east side of the park, so I decided to sneak up on them from that side. Bad move; the shrubby slope was a little bit too uneven and my left knee is now letting me know that was not a good idea! I will have to walk tai chi slow for a week or so while I let it rest.

Pair of cattle egrets at the park.

Looking at the rusty colors on the back of the egret.

Tonight I made Weeknight Pot Roast and Potatoes from the ATK Pressure Cooker Perfection cookbook; there were too many potatoes and not enough pot roast. I started prepping the pressure cooker at 5 pm; dinner was on the table by 6:30 pm. Love that pressure cooker! I also made a salad, using seitan as the protein instead of Japanese style fishcake.

Need more pot roast & less potatoes.

Salad with Chipotle-Style Seitan.

The Roommate Who Is Learning To Give Xander His Meds has gotten good at giving Xander his insulin shot; Xander's prednisolone pill is the problem. Getting the insulin shot is a passive thing for Xander, he just sits there and gets poked. Getting the pill however, he needs to have his mouth actively pried open and the pill dropped down to the back of his throat so he can't spit it out.

The Roommate begins the pill-giving process.

The Roommate tries to pry open Xander's mouth, while holding his head up so its a straight shot down his throat.

Oh, oh; poking the pill between his teeth isn't going to do it.

Yup, there it is! He spit it out. For the 3rd time. (I took over & dropped the pill down Xander's throat.)

Here's one of the reasons I am having difficulty with trying to lose weight now that The Roommates have moved in. Tonight they brought home a Triple Chocolate Donut for me. (They also had their own donuts.) True, I could refuse to eat it; however, I chose to eat 1/2 of it tonight. Got to talk the them about sabotaging my weight loss plans!


Happy Birthday to Janice & Mari!