Pre-Transplant Home Prep Checklist

For anyone bringing a loved one home from the hospital after a transplant, the home preparation one needs to do is somewhat overwhelming.  There is a lot to do, as the home must be spic 'n' span and free from anything that might sicken the patient with a compromised immune system.  When I first read in the handbook given to us by the transplant team regarding Paul's upcoming transplant, the amount of work and prep I would need to do, I was overwhelmed.  I work best with a checklist, and so created one.  Below is a free checklist template you can open in Google Docs and download and use to help with home prep. Click on the icon for access. You can edit it to suit your situation, add whatever items as you see fit. (If this link isn't working for some reason, please let me know in the Comments below.)

Long Absence/Explanation/MDS/Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma

Hello! I have been away a long time.  A lot has happened in life since my last post a year and a half ago.  Paul and I spent a lot of time traveling in late 2018 through November of 2019.  Then there was work and grandson (who is 13 and 1/2!).  When we returned from our last trip in 2019 (a visit to Philadelphia to see our son and to tour Gettysburg, plus a Civil War ball), Paul was diagnosed first with severe anemia, and then cancer (MDS and non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma).  He is going in for a stem cell transplant in May which will hopefully lead to a cure, God willing.
I'm not sure if I will be able to blog much, but in a subsequent post I wanted to post a checklist for pre-transplant patients and caregivers. I also have been posting YouTube videos relating to Cancer Caregivers.  My channel is here: Celeste's Channel.

Michaelmas!

Today is the Feast of Saint Michael the Archangel. 
One of my favorite prayers, that I say often, is the prayer to Saint Michael:

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle

be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.

May God rebuke him, we humbly pray.

And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, 

by the Divine power of God, 

cast into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, 

who roam throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls.

Last year, Paul and I planted Michaelmas Daisies in the garden.  I brought some into the house for today.

Bedroom Woodwork (with Regency Fashion!)

One of the last rooms to be finished in our fixer-upper is the master bedroom.  We had wallpapered the walls years ago (20 years?!), and that is in need of an update.  Paul had added window and door casings (we had the original design reproduced in oak).  But we didn't have baseboards in our room since the original pine ones (that were in horrible shape) were removed - 30 years ago - when we had gutted the upstairs.  Finally though, this summer, Paul installed the baseboards!  They are beautiful.  And this week the wallpaper is being changed.  So I am happy.

I happened to be dressed up for Book Club the day Paul finished them.  I was dressed in Regency for our book choice: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.  I wore my Michaelmas dress, that I finally finished (when I wore it for my Michaelmas Party, the "innards" weren't finished (seam finishes around the armholes, tacking down of the back fastenings, etc. and the hem was atrociously put in - I literally machine basted the worst-hem-ever.  Now all is finished and properly hemmed.  It was nice to wear the dress again, with my short stays, and have it be complete.  I also wore my Regency slippers from American Duchess.  I posed my foot by the new baseboards!

Northanger Abbey Dress

"Dashwood" Regency slippers from American Duchess

Close-up of the baseboards, with the outer corner blocks

Where Has The Time Gone?!

We have had a very busy spring and summer!  I'll post some projects.  I'll try to be better about posting!

Kitchen Storage Organization (Small Space Living)

Living in a small space has its challenges.  Although we redid our kitchen a couple of years ago and added lots of new cabinetry, I still needed to economize on space.  A lot of the items below were put in initially with the kitchen remodel.  But a while back I did a lot of kitchen reorganization which really helped working in the space.  I ordered some new things for this.  I also repaired an appliance, and employed an antique tea canister for fun.

One of the first space organizers I purchased was an Ikea Pot Lid Organizer, to be use for baking dishes and pie pans, rather then the pot lids it was intended for:

A more recent project, I took everything out of the drawers, and reorganized them.  Here is the big drawer reorganization:

Everything from the bottom section out to sort and purge

The bottom section reorganized: baking utensils, etc.

The top section is silverware

Speaking of silverware, I bought new stainless.  This was problematic, because the bottom of the dinner fork handles are large and ornate, much wider than before, and they did not fit in our small dishwasher basket.  I liked how the dishwasher basket fit in our small-space dishwasher, and didn't want to try and find a new one that might not work anyway.  Paul suggested opening up a few of the basket sections, so they were wider:

The basket before

It just doesn't fit!

The basket after, with four of the sections in the middle widened out using a metal rasp.

Then there is small-space pan storage.  We used two separate units in one of the base cabinets, a two-level unit for pans and lids (that have to be placed with their handles just so on the adjustable rack), and another for cookie sheets and cutting boards:

Bottom pan level

Top level - lids, and the teensy-tiny frying pan

I also repaired my grain mill (the air outlet piece).  Note that my grain mill will now be used for non gluten grains such as oat groats (back on gluten-free diet).  This deformity had been here since I purchased the mill.  It didn't affect the functioning, but it bugged me, so I ordered a new part:

Finally, I needed tea storage for some little samples I had gotten.  I found this canister in an antique store - just like mother used to have!!

What I Did Instead (Went On Vacation!)

(Note: I thought I had posted this already!  Well, better late than never!)
This past November, there was a problem with a group I was working with.  It all had to do with music and harp, an inexplicable and unnecessary rude email from one of the leaders to me, and an unexpected invitation that same day from another group that helped salve the wound (a group I am happily working with now).  I don't want to go into details since this is a public blog, but suffice it to say, it was so disappointing.  I have moved on, but still am flabbergasted by the whole sequence of events.
There was a special event planned for February with the old group, that I was so looking forward to.  I had blocked out a series of days from my work schedule to accommodate this.  When everything fell apart, I had this rare lengthy time off.  Paul had not been feeling well, basically from Thanksgiving to Christmas.  When thinking of a gift for him for Christmas, I thought time at the beach would be therapeutic.  Plus we had enough points on one credit card to cover two airline tickets, enough on another to cover the rental car.  So I booked a long weekend in Florida.  We had a lovely time.
I made sure, on the evening of the event that I was not part of, that Paul and I were drinking cold champagne in a warm place.  And celebrating our lives together.