Archive for January, 2018
Posted by terrepruitt on January 29, 2018
“Hey Lady! Happy Birthday!”

Sorry, there is no on around to even understand that, or laugh with me.
I really can’t let such a great mom’s birthday pass without at least a nod. Even if it is a private joke and everyone that could get it is dead. I didn’t bring home any of the really beautiful pictures, I had snapped this one of a photo a couple of years ago. Now, going through the house, I could have brought a really pretty one home, but at the time I didn’t think of it.
Cheers, mom.
Posted in Diane Bacho | Tagged: cheers, Happy Birthday, Hey Lady, mom's birthday | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 26, 2018
Here is our cat before she got annoyed with me trying to take her picture. There are two main reasons I have a lot more pictures of Nessa than I do of Teagan. One, Teagan is black and very difficult to photograph. The lighting has to be right in order for her features to show. And two, she hates it. It used to be that I could NEVER get a shot of her. She just didn’t like it. Nessa doesn’t care. You can be in her face or across the room and she is like, “Whatever.” Or she may not even notice. But Teagan used to have a NO-radar. She could be dead asleep and her NO-radar would wake her up and she would leave. “NO! You are not taking my picture!” She is better now, but she is still difficult to photograph. You might imagine how many far away (so she hopefully wouldn’t notice I was taking a picture) or blurry (because she noticed and is leaving) pictures I have of her. She is beautiful so I would try!
Teagan is my Friday Photo today!

Posted in Cats, Teagan and Nessa | Tagged: best cats, black cat, Friday Photo, Nessa, Teagan | 25 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 24, 2018
As you may have read on my blog at one point, I get my dad’s mail and one of the things that comes in his mail is AARP stuff. I glance through it because sometimes I think it is informative. Sometimes it can help people of all ages. I took a copy/picture of this information because I thought it could be helpful to anyone that is a caregiver to someone in California.
The first one mentioned I am not even sure I understand because I can’t imagine a patient being discharged without the caregiver being giving instructions and training on how and what to do in order to continue the care. It could be that I am primarily familiar with Kaiser and I am pretty sure that in the cases that I am familiar with there had been instructions and training. But I guess that is not always the case. So it appears to me that the first law mentioned on this flyer AARP is calling the California Hospital & Family Caregiver Law makes it a law that written instructions and training must be given when a patient is released and needs further medical care. This was signed and filed in 2015, and AARP is saying it was effective in 2016. AARP is just highlighting it so caregivers know that there is a law that requires hospitals to give caregivers what they need to continue care.
The California Paid Family Leave (PFL) “California Paid Family Leave (PFL) provides up to 6 weeks of partial pay to employees who take time off from work to care for a seriously ill family member (child, parent, parent-in-law, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, spouse, or registered domestic partner) or to bond with a new child entering the family through birth, adoption, or foster care placement.
Note: Beginning January 1, 2018, Assembly Bill 908 (Chapter 5, Statutes of 2016) increases the Disability Insurance and PFL wage replacement rate to approximately 60 to 70 percent (depending on income) and removes the 7-day waiting period for PFL. This applies to claims with a start date of January 1, 2018 or after.”
I just copied that directly from the State of California Employment Development Department site so that I didn’t inaccurately state something. So the change is the increase in the percentage of pay.
Another bill passed was the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights. Which makes it unlawful for any long-term facility to transfer a person based wholly or in part on their actual or perceived sexual orientation (amoung other things). This is one that is best read on the site because it is long and I don’t want to leave anything out or state it incorrectly. It was approved and filed in October of 2017.
See? This information might have to do with elderly people, but it really is for the caregivers of these people. It could be that the young people – the ones providing care and the ones NOT subscribed to AARP – never get this information because they are not reading the AARP magazine. So . . . I thought I would share it.
If you do need any of this information please look it up on the actual websites as you can see this information is not complete. It is just a quick summary to help you be aware of information you might need.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: AARP, and Transgender Long-Term Care Facility Residents' Bill of Rights, Assembly Bill 908, Bisexual, California Employment Development Department, California Hospital & Family Caregiver Law, California Paid Family Leave (PFL), Gay, Lesbian, SB 219, SB 675 | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 19, 2018
Yes, I still have a computer. A TOWER computer. My husband keeps threatening me saying that once it dies he is not going to build me a new one. He says he is going to buy me a laptop. I don’t want a laptop. I love my computer. It has a lot of storage and it has a lot of CD drives and burners. So, I think that will be a tough day when it dies. Recently the fan died. And look at its replacement. Well, it originally had a light, but that went out a long time ago, then the fan died. The replacement, its lovely. Now I know when my computer is on for certain.
My pretty computer fan is my Friday Photo today.
Anyone out there still have a computer?

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: blue light, computer fan, laptop, tower computer | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 17, 2018
This past Christmas I decided to make gifts for my family and some friends. I was painting (that will be another post or two) for the first three weeks of December. While I had my paints out I asked my hubby if he would mind if I painted our cat’s heart stone. As usual, just like when I am cooking, I didn’t think to take a picture of it until I was partly done. The first picture I had painted the green background and some of the blue flowers. That is when I thought to take pictures of it – AFTER I had already started – so that we could see the difference between the faded colors and the new colors.

The other picture shows the end result. It is nice to have the bright colors out in the yard. It also helped that my husband spent some time out in the yard gathering up all the leaves that were covering the stone. Our lemon tree drops a lot of leaves so in combination with all of the peanut shells we have in the yard, the stone was covered. It was covered AND faded so it was impossible to see.
Before bringing it it, my husband kindly washed it off, making sure to get all of the dirt off so the paint would stick.
I think I did ok. I am not an artist. I was just trying to brighten it up. And, that I did. I wasn’t going for shading or any depth. I do wish I would have taken a picture of it before I did any painting at all. But I just didn’t think about it until halfway through.
We actually have a lot of other things in the yard I would like to paint to help brighten them up. I mean, the reason we put them in the yard is because they were cute and colorful. Well, they fade after time so they need refreshing. I need to set aside some time to do that. We have a couple of walking stone sets that could use painting and several little yard decorations. Yup. That will be something I will do.
I like painting. I need to set aside some time in order to paint.
Do you have a hobby you would like to make more time to do? What do you think of Spot’s Heart Stone?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: bright colors, Christmas gifts, Christmast 2017, Grave stone, Hobby, painting, Spot, Spot the cat, Spot's Heart Stone, yard decorations | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 15, 2018
In my last post I mentioned family, friends, and both Nia and yoga students giving me cat things or things related to yoga this past Christmas. I received a lot of cute things. And I received a lot of thoughtful gifts. I want to share another one. (I know I have already posted about a few.) One of my students gave me a Gumby. Do you member Gumby? He is very flexible and bendy. She said it was because she called me Gumby, although I don’t ever remember hearing her call me that.
He has a tie-dyed shirt on! So cute! She made a tie-dyed shirt for him. She actually “tie-dyed” it. At first I thought she just found some material that looked tie-dyed and then she used it to sew a shirt. But nooooo! She actually used pens and colored the shirt making it tie-dyed. For those of you who have never taken one of the classes you might not realize that I wear tie-dyed shirts. They are kind of like my “uniform”. So this was super cute. It made me laugh. We were going to lunch the day she gave it to me and I had to bring it into the restaurant to show everyone. I also wanted to share it with you because it was so cute.
I also have some Gumby facts because this particular Gumby is a 50th anniversary edition Gumby so the packaging came with interesting facts listed about Gumby. I can say that I really didn’t know that much about Gumby. So these were things I didn’t know about Gumby.
-Gumby’s TV debut was on the Howdy Doody Show in 1956.
-Gumby got his own show that year. The Gumby Show.
-The Gumby Show aired from 1956 to 1968.
-By 1966, Gumby sales break all records.
-It takes 1,440 still-frame pictures to make 1 minute of clay animation.
-In 1988 100 new Gumby episodes were produced.
-There are 214 Gumby episodes in existence.
-Gumby’s first feature film was release in 1995.
So there. Now you know some Gumby facts.
Do you remember Gumby? Did you watch him on TV? Do you remember his side kick?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 50th Anniversary Edition of Gumby, Christmas gifts, creative gift, flexible, Gumby, Howdy Doody Show, Nia student, The Gumby Show, tie-dye shirts, yoga student | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 12, 2018
My family, students, and friends know me so well. I received such cute cat things and wonderful yoga related things this past Christmas season. Look at these super cute mugs. Such a bright addition to the kitchen. Now, if I could just get the Christmas stuff put away!
Here’s this week’s Friday Photo.

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Christmas gifts, Christmas season, clowder, Friday Photo, kitty mug, Nia students, yoga students | 3 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 10, 2018
Not too long ago I discovered a way to be mindful quite by accident. This way to be mindful is also ONLY during a specific task. A couple of years ago I wrote briefly about Mindfulness because I had come across a video on Facebook that represented an entirely different definition of mindfulness than I think of mindfulness as. In that post I mentioned walking around while brushing my teeth as not being very mindful. I am not concentrating on the task (brushing my teeth) at hand. I am trying to save time by doing other things while brushing my teeth. The result of that is usually me spending way more time brushing my teeth than I need to because I forget where I have brushed. While I am walking across the room to get my clothes I might have brushed the top front, but then by the time I get to my clothes I have moved onto the top sides. When I grab my clothes I forget if I did the front. So I think I end up brushing and rebrushing. So in effect NOT saving any time at all. Plus the fact that I am just not being mindful of the task at hand. Well, quite by accident I found a sure fire way to MAKE me focus ONLY on brushing my teeth.
I don’t like soft tooth brushes. I like medium. The last time I went to buy a tooth brush I could find soft or firm. No mediums. Every brand, every style I looked at was either soft or firm, but not medium. Who is the jerk responsible for that? Well, I decided to try the firm. WELL, NOW! That is what is making me concentrate solely on brushing my teeth. Them bristles are WAAAAYYYY firm. I am afraid that if I am not giving it my attention 100% I will brush a hole in my tooth. Not only do I have to concentrate as to where I have brushed because I don’t want to go over any area of my tooth more than is necessary, I have to concentrate on the pressure I am using,
So, for a bit now, I have been standing at my sink brushing my teeth – JUST brushing my teeth. For those of you that do that normally, I am sure this sounds ridiculous. But I know there are a lot of others out there like me who do other things while brushing their teeth and it sounds ridiculous, even unimaginable, for other reasons. Well, yup . . . there it is – FORCED mindfulness. I think it actually saves me time. As I mentioned, before there was unnecessary brushing. Now there is not and so it is much more efficient.
Now, if I could just let this cross over into some of the other things I do. There are moments with some tasks where I am very focused, but some tasks just don’t seem like they need my full attention. And then that is when I end up with spilled liquid, a broken nail, a misplaced item, or something else unwanted.
Do you have any tips or tricks for staying focused and being mindful?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: brushing teeth, Mindfulness, tooth brush, ways to stay mindful, working on mindfulness | 8 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 8, 2018
So how are you all doing? My hubby and I got hit with something. I don’t know that it is/was the flu. I can’t tell the difference. Except to me, I always think of the flu as affecting your stomach and digestion. We haven’t had that, that I know of. So to me it was – is – more of a cold. I woke up with it on Saturday and I was miserable. So Saturday night when I went to bed I decided to try the wet sock treatment. Heard of it? You can read about it by clicking here (Wet Sock Treatment). I woke up feeling much better. I felt pretty good throughout the day, but just like with anything, was a little tired and worn out by Sunday night – even though I didn’t do anything. So I decided to do the treatment again Sunday night.
Saturday night I didn’t last the entire night . . . well, the entire time I was in bed trying to sleep, with the socks on. They made me way to hot and I pulled them off in the early morning. I was so hot I was tossing and turning a bit. But that is what always happens to me when we have the heat on while I sleep. I just get way too hot.
Sunday night I turned the heat down a bit and I was able to sleep with the socks on the entire night. AND I slept with my feet under the covers. Saturday night I kept putting my feet out because I was so hot. The heat just closes up my sinuses and makes me too hot.
The first and last time I tried this was in 2011 and it wasn’t for a cold. It was for an injured toe. This time on Saturday night my feet were so cold I did warm them first, but not in warm water. I just used a space heater. The second night my feet weren’t cold so I just jumped to #3 and put the wet socks on and got in bed.
I do think this treatment IS a good cold remedy and really helped me feel better faster. I think I am going to try it again tonight!
I did think to look at my blog for the tea . . . . Sick People Tea . . . the one with lemon, ginger, and oregano . . . but I didn’t have any fresh ginger. I could have used powder, but I didn’t want to go outside to get a lemon. So I didn’t try the tea. But, I might still. I have to go outside tomorrow so I might pick a lemon on the way in.
How are you holding out? What do you do to help speed your recovery along after the flu or a cold?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: cold, cold remedy, flu, lemon ginger oregano tea, Sick People Tea, stomach issues, wet sock treatment | 4 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on January 5, 2018
Well, since it is not yet the Epiphany, maybe I can eek out one more Christmas decoration. And actually, I did not plan this at all. I was waiting at the reception desk at the community center today after teaching Nia and I saw this wreath. I think it is gorgeous AND a great idea. I am so bummed I got rid of all my dad’s books. This is exactly the kind of thing that would have been perfect to make with them. It would have been beautiful and reminded me of my dad. Well, maybe there is one or two left that I can use. So, that is another reason I want to post this as my Friday Photo, as a reminder of a craft I would like to attempt for Christmas this year.
What do you think? Do you think it is cool?

Posted in Friday Photo | Tagged: Christmas decoration, Christmas wreath, Cool Wreath, Epiphany, Friday Photo, Nia class, Nia Teacher, San Jose Community Center, wreath made of book pages | 2 Comments »