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No, I live in Burnaby.  I think they bring a truck around once a month to this complex.  They used to when I first moved in, but I'm not too sure they still do.  In 1997 I saw a Library Van in the parking lot with people clustered around it, but the service may have been cut off by now with budget restraints in effect.  The books had to be pre-ordered the previous month and there was a limit on the number of books you could order.  I think it was three per person. 

Orange juice for lunch.  I tried to eat but it wouldn't go down, so I dumped the sandwich and had more juice.  Not much of a meal, but it stayed with me and that's what matters.  I was going to have some porridge, but I discovered the milk had gone sour and I was out of coffee cream.  I was having bad luck and that was that.

I had a very boring day, so not much to write about.  Too much pain to concentrate on anything, and staring out the window was pointless as well.  Same scenery plus drizzle.  It should have put me to sleep as rain generally does make me tired to the point of nodding off.  Not this time, though. 

So I watched home repair shows all day.  Today featured John De Sylvia rebuilding shoddy repair work and I like his shows.  On Saturdays they feature one carpenter all day, and on Sunday they have another one.  I don't know who is on tomorrow, so it is something to look forward to. 

I am getting tired now, so I'll say goodbye for now.  See you tomorrow.

The Home Health is government assistance.  It is a "take it or leave it" deal, and I can't afford to hire private caregivers.  In 2004 my client (private) had to pay $18 per hour for one 2 hour caregiver to just fix supper and do the dishes.  It had gotten to the point where I could no longer handle going three times a day plus keep the house tidy.  I had done it for 6 years and my health had diminished to the point where I could no longer manage three two-hour shifts. When the client's health had diminished to the last stage, she was hospitalized and lasted about five days until she passed away.  I think the hospitalization must have killed her will to live.  She truly loved her home, and even though she was completely bed-ridden she could look out her bedroom window and watch the birds making a home in the tree she had planted decades before when she and her husband first bought the house.

The problem is that it is supplied by a branch of the government for poor seniors.  I can't afford private insurance even if I could qualify.  Due to having an incurable condition I wouldn't be able to get it in any case.  There isn't exactly a line-up of insurers willing to accept me, no matter whether it is public or private.  I have to take what I can get.  At least some help is better than none, and I don't want to go to the hospital as long as I am minimally functioning.  I can also keep my cats.  Although I do have eventual homes for them, they will keep me as their "mom" for as long as I can manage.  Animals keep me distracted from the full extent of the pain.  When I have to give them up I know it will be the end of a meaningful life at home.

If I complain they will decide I don't need help since I'm obviously  still capable of fending for myself.  It's a case of "Damned if I do, damned if I don't."  I can fend for myself to some extent, but it is very limited and exhausting.     
Maybe by the time I do need more assistance some of them will know what they are supposed to be doing.  I'm trying to be optimistic but it's hard to hope considering the level of help I've had so far.

I believe these diet preparers come to watch while I heat up my soup and make a sandwich.  So far that is what they have done.  They don't seem to have a clue as to why they are there.

But even that is interesting.

I also have nothing interesting to say.  Since I have been pretty much housebound my life has been a round of nurses'  visits and people that are supposed to prepare meals for me but don't seem to know how to heat a can of soup and make a basic sandwich.  So I wind up showing them how to use a can opener (electric) and butter a slice of bread.  They are basically a nuisance foisted on me by Home Health in the name of assistance.  I tried to explain that the help required was just the heavy housework, and eventually I have hopes that my message will get through to the Home Health powers- that- be that provide in-home assistance.

I do wish I could get out and go to the library.  I desperately want some science fiction to take me away from this staring at the walls.  Escaping the apartment for even a little while would be wonderful.  I've been home long enough for several of my favourite authors to put out some good reading.  I think by now I would even welcome some mediocre reading to pass the time.  Perhaps with a little searching I could find some diamonds in the rough!  The only drawback is that I would be standing for a period of time, and I'm not sure I would be able to do it.

I hope to hear from the wonderful people I've met on this site.

Not at all, Gopher.  If you go counter-clockwise around the globe you will definitely have the LAST WORD.  Except for me.  I now have the last word.  If you type really quickly, you will regain the last word.  (Until I respond.  I shall once again regain the last word.)

Is that an outhouse, or would it be used indoors?  How does it flush?  (or does it?)  It reminds me of the outhouse on my grandparents' farm.  I wouldn't want to encounter it in a restaurant. 

A dietary aide showed up to fix supper at four in the afternoon.  After I showed her how to use the electric can opener,  (challenging her somewhat feeble intellect)  I had to tell her how to empty the can into a saucepan and put it on a small burner to heat.  I also had to tell her how to turn on the electric stove and set the proper heat.  Since there is usually a different one every day, I never know when she will arrive.  There is first the instruction on where to find the soup, and then the demonstration on how to use the very basic electric stove.  I also have to show them where I keep the soup, the pots and pans, and the dishes.  Since there will likely be a different aide each time, this will require a lot of standing.  I think that tomorrow I'll tell them to sit down and have a rest while I do it.  I pay a certain amount to have them come in twice a day, so they can sit and watch while I do it for myself.  Saves time and effort that way.  I certainly hope they are quick learners!

There will be a fair amount of turnover of staff during the summer to make it even more interesting. I hope that won't last for too long before I get a few regulars who know what they are supposed to do and how to do it.  I don't want to  spend the rest of the summer training people who probably won't show up again.

Believe it or not, this letter has taken me hours to complete!  I have to keep lying down and resting between paragraphs.  Such a long period of time for something that isn't a novel!  Being horizontal makes it difficult to type coherently.   A pile of cats demanding attention is also distracting. ("Can't you see we are starving?  We have been waiting for at least two hours since the last meal!)  They do make excellent bed snugglers, though, especially when I am just dozing off and a cat comes flying onto the bed demanding pats and scratches.  Now they are both sleeping, one on the floor and the other on the dresser.  They are waiting for me to lie down so they can jump on the bed and demand my full attention.

I think I'll call it quits for now.  Hope to hear from you soon.  Love to you all.
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                                Kitten

Are those red berries on the sliced oranges?  If so, what kind are they?

Would that be because you are not the one that is being remembered?

Did you know him or did you go to lend moral support for your friend?

Do you mean to say you aren't interested in rancher's rights?  I can't for a moment imagine why.

Must take a lot to make a decent meal!

A worker from the dietary section came in at lunch time,  and then someone from the housekeeping section.  Since I didn't need either of them, they talked for a while and as I was silently pleading with them to go, a nurse arrived to check on me.  By then I had lost my appetite, so I finally had something to eat around six o'clock.  The dietary assistant (another one) came at four to make supper, so I told her I could open the can of soup by myself.  She stayed for about 20 minutes before going to her next appointment, and I had the rest of the day free.  At last I was free of interruption and I caught up on my morning paper.  A small nap would have been so much more restful, but I wasn't given the opportunity by all the people telling me I should get more rest.  Ironic, isn't it!  I finally had "lunch" at 5:30 this evening.
I do love all these people that tell me to get more rest, and then deprive me of the chance to do it.