Friday, May 10, 2024

 Friday, May 10, 2024

 I decided to use the dishwasher to rinse the dishes from last night's dinner celebration for Gayle's 80th birthday. I cleaned the dishes with soap and put them in the dishwasher to rinse. It's a good idea to run the dishwasher periodically so the seals don't dry out, and I hadn't done that in a while. 

   I noticed some water next to the counter. Hmm! I must have spilled some when I was washing the dishes. Then I got a call from Yvette; water leaked through her ceiling. She thought it was because I was washing the floor. No, it was the dishwasher leaking. I turned it off and drained it. This mess was going to be much worse than when I poured too much water on the floor before vacuuming it.  This leak would soak the whole length of the ceiling between the dishwasher and the point where it broke through her ceiling.

   I was surprised when water leaked through the ceiling when I washed the tiled floor. Wasn't it waterproof?  I learned that while the water couldn't penetrate the tiles, it did through the space between them. The grout was not waterproof.

   Dealing with the leak delayed my departure for the hula class, but I made it before the class started. It would have been okay either way.  While the Hawaiian Pa'u Hula skirt had arrived in the mail, I wasn't up for trying it on.  It was still sitting in the package it arrived in.  I would rather wear something less dramatic.  I brought a shawl to wrap around my hips. The one I grabbed was a solid magenta.  Those women wearing shawls wore ones with a Hawaiian pattern. I planned to buy a patterned one at Costco on my next visit. 

   The  kumu, teacher, introduced a new dance that was easy to follow.  The setting is part of the joy of the class. The side of the building facing the ocean is open, and you feel the breeze and hear the waves the whole time. Of course, it also makes It more difficult to hear the teacher.

   I went home directly after the class to eat and nap, forgetting the text from the vet telling me Elsa's ear medication was available.  I remembered a while later and jumped in the car without checking the time. I arrived at 12:30.  Their office is closed from 12 to 1 for lunch.  I pushed back the seat of the car and meditated till 1.

   I took Elsa with me, expecting her to enjoy the ride. She loves to ride in the car.  However, She knew we were at the vet and sat in my lap shaking the whole time. I won't take her next time. I picked up the meds. I had a credit. I only had to pay $4. 

   Just as I pulled into the driveway, the sky opened, and it poured, one of those downpours that leaves you soaked in a minute.  And then it poured harder.  After ten minutes, it let up enough to run for the side door. 

  When I opened the bag, I was surprised to find a container of pills.  Last time, the vet prescribed ear drops.   I checked the instructions. "2.5 pills once a day for deworming.." uh? The pills were for Daisy, not Elsa. The receptionist had given me the wrong meds. I called to tell her partially because I was pissed she had done that and partially to let her know she had to prep another order for Daisy for her worms.

  I got a call from Giovanni from the skincare shop.  He got the results back from the lab; my eczema was severe, and it was going to get worse. He wanted to 'give me' a whole body redlight/sauna unit for my personal care. He got the results from the Mayo Clinic. Hmmm!  I said an immediate no, not because he sounded bogus but because I didn't want a large object like that in my house. I knew already I'd never use it. I told him I would check with my doctor.

   I called Mama K to confirm a Saturday morning appointment session with the Twins. She told me they were participating in a paddling race on the island's west side. They had to leave at 4:30 in the morning; I guess that session was out. They couldn't do it now because they had no electricity. Hilo was hit by a bad storm. Mama K called me back fifteen minutes later to say it was back on, and the girls were good to go.

   I worked with Twin A first. I hadn't seen her in over a week.  Every time I scheduled a session, she was asleep, or was she 'asleep.'  It could have been real. Those girls get up super early and come home exhausted from school.  I asked Twin A outright if she was faking.  I was stonewalled.  The girl's older brother ratted on her to their mom.

   Twin A had a rough start reading a passage on a low third-grade level. Her comprehension was surprisingly good. The only hitch was holding a sound in her head when she had to blend it. She had trouble identifying the I  in mile as a long /i/. Then, she had trouble holding the sound when she blended /i/ with /l/. She kept converting the long /i/ sound to an /aw/. She couldn't control it. I lectured her on brain plasticity; if she wanted to get better, she had to battle with her brain. If she did that, she could master any skill. Each time she made an effort, her brain would change. When she made that effort often enough, she would never have to do it again. It would come easily.  Twin A read the following two passages smoothly and articulately described the basic idea of the passage, including all the relevant information and no more.  Impressive.

   Twin E's work for today was even more impressive.  She zoomed through the sight words on list 176 through 200.  I opened up the following list: 201-225.  She recognized many words on that list as on list 226-250.  As I hoped, if we worked on the skill of memorizing, she would remember words she had seen in other contexts.  This was very good news.