Shaky

Saturday December 12, 1992

Bad night! Hot spells and nausea. Didn't sleep much. Up at 8:30. Made waffles for us.

Frank colored my hair. I finished the Christmas cards. He went to Newbury Park to meet the new tenant to let him put some boxes in the house. Rent starts next week.

I seem to be jittery and shaky today. Don't know why.

I can't imagine a worse smell than the overwhelming odor of ammonia from the hair color chemicals when Mom is already nauseous.

I definitely do see a difference in her handwriting today. It is very small and jerky. I'm surprised she decided to write Christmas cards today.

Bundled Up

Tuesday December 8, 1992

Frank is sore in the groin. It's swollen. We go out to breakfast. I feel pretty good. The breakfast tastes good. It's a waffle, bacon and egg. Frank enjoys his too. Later, at home, I don't feel too good, nausea and tired. I manage to do the wash but can't get to the Christmas cards. Frank goes to his carving class.

Later that night I feel too ill to fix the pot roast dinner. Frank fixes it and eats and enjoys it. Much later I eat a little. I get very cold again. I bundle up with coats and blankets.

It seems Mom has not learned that every time she eats she gets nauseous, and more than that even flu-like chills. Small portions of bland food might go down OK, but certainly not bacon. I hope Frank is not about to have a medical crisis too.

Mom always sent out hundreds of hand-written Christmas cards every year, not just a short note, but several pages, each one individually written. Her example led me to send out Christmas cards every year, not individually hand-written, but a Christmas letter mass produced. I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I always enjoy getting cards and letters from friends at Christmas, and I hope they enjoy mine too. In this age of technology, I have noticed that the number of cards and letters I receive every year has dwindled down to almost nothing. I guess this tradition has become outdated.

My Nose Is Still Running

Thursday December 12, 1991

Slept pretty well. Main job today is finish the Christmas cards. I started Tuesday. It takes me all day.

My nose is still running and I have large hemorrhoids. I take a sitz bath to try to relieve some pain. It helps.

Mervel calls from Kaiser. She has talked to Dr. Bix. Dr. Bix says she didn't receive any messages from the nurse or Dr. Russack when I was in the hospital. She wants to talk to me. I say "tell her to call".

We have a lovely game hen dinner.

Sounds pretty fishy to me that Dr. Bix didn't get a single message even though several were left for her!

Christmas Cards

Tuesday December 10, 1991

Today is laundry day and I begin to write the Christmas cards. Frank begins to wrap gifts.

I'm having constipation problems and getting a great set of hemorrhoids. Otherwise, I continue to feel great.

Great, other than feeling very tired!

Mom spent days writing personal letters in each Christmas card she sent out, and there were always hundreds. She did not have a computer in 1991 nor a copy machine, so each letter was carefully written by hand individually. She did this faithfully every year. I guess that's why it is important to me to send Christmas cards every year, even though the number I receive has definitely dwindled over the past 10 years. It seems to be a lost tradition. However, I use a computer and type my letter, which is generic. Everyone gets the same letter.