Sunday

Such a wonderful week I've had. Worked Monday and Wednesday only, and those days went well. 

Both of those days the new co-worker had something going on at home and didn't come in at 8, unexpectedly. It didn't make her look good, and it made her feel awful, like we couldn't count on her. RN coworker and I shook our heads and just muddled through until she got there, and then tried to reassure her that we'd been fine. (We were, but it was also annoying.) We do understand that life does get messy at times, too. Once it was a car breakdown (but this has happened before, and she hasn't had the issue repaired yet); and the other issue was her husband's illness--he wasn't able to take the kiddos to school so she had to and that took longer than expected. 

 Later in the week when I was off on Thursday she texted both of us again, saying she was ill this time and planned on going to our clinic's urgent care; she was diagnosed there with strep and therefore wouldn't be coming to work either that day or the next. 

 I felt so sorry for RNcoworker, but I already had plans for both days,  and didn't volunteer to cancel those to come in and work. I'd set up my appts weeks ago specifically for those days when I knew I'd be off work.

So I had my annual vision exam on Thursday (which ended up being a day of much needed solid pouring rain. Our rain gauge showed 7 inches received that day!).  

Later that day I had my follow up appt with my own primary care doc to discuss the gastritis, and headaches, and stress, etc. J came with me.  According to those scales I've lost 4 pounds since my last visit there a month ago, since starting Weight Watchers. 

She still thinks the gastritis is stress-related, so we talked about that a lot. J volunteered a lot of info, and she stated she had learned a lot of background info about me which helped her get a better picture of what my life is like (as far as what kinds of stress I'm dealing with). So the upshot is I'm to continue the stomach med for two more weeks.

We missed our last appt that day with the vet because we thought it was on Friday instead of Thursday...so J will take Fiona tomorrow instead. Sigh.

Thursday evening after MissS got home she and I raced out to WW, and that was good; according to that scale I've only lost 3 pounds, but hey, at least I'm losing. We stay for the meeting afterwards, so we don't get out of there til 7, and are home by 7:15. We are both ravenous normally,  which is the only bad thing about the meeting being at 6:30. She lost too, so it's all good. We are learning a lot.

Tuesday, we had done a lot of house and bank work: cleaning both the house and then cleaning up paperwork--filing, getting rid of certain credit cards we don't use, or expired cards, writing down names and acct numbers of the cards we are using, writing down all info we carry in our wallets. Plus we had already frozen all our credit reports last week.

Then we went to a matinee; we both loved it, seeing "A Star Is Born". So good. Even J loved it. This is the third remake of the original made back in the 30s with Janet Gaynor. That one I've never seen, but I saw the next one with Judy Garland, then I never saw the second remake in the 70s with Barbra Streisand either--but this one! Wow. Very impressive. I've read that the director/leading man is in real life a recovering alcoholic, and that just adds such a touch of realism to his stunning performance.

Friday I had my mammogram at 8am. My company now covers the ultra hi-tech 3D  imaging, so that's good--I'll find out the results this week. Then we did some grocery shopping. At 1pm we headed out for his doctor's appt to discuss his lab results; the insurance company had sent out a notice telling him to discuss the "high cholesterol level". But his doctor was completely puzzled because J's cholesterol  levels are so low it's ridiculous. He's never ever had high cholesterol or triglycerides. It's clearly a mistake, but it's the first time this insurance company has blundered; normally they are right on top of things.

After that appt, we drove over to Ormond Beach to take a look at the shrimp boat which is beached on the shore. It somehow got there about two weeks ago, no one is sure how.

 Here I am standing in front of it. It's 77 feet long. I was riveted by it. In fact, we and MissS drove to my sister's house yesterday afternoon for drinks and snacks at a place on the beach just south of this, and after enjoying those, we four walked up to the boat (again) and just gawked. This photo was taken yesterday. It is just huge. 

We were glad to go back to her house after this and sit in the hot tub to warm up! The time of the pool is over for the year, sadly. Pool temp is down to 74, so it's too cold to get in, unless and until we (J and BIL) figure out the solar stuff.  So now we'll be making use of Sis' hot tub more often. It was wonderful yesterday.

This morning MissS and I went to the final-for-now Pilates class. It seemed extra tough, but extra good, too. And the weather is definitely Fall-ish. Right now it's 66 degrees, and it's supposed to get to the mid 50s tonight. Lovely sleeping weather. 

Louise next door gave us a potted hibiscus tree, and since it had been in  its pot for many years, it was probably root bound.  She has a hell of a green thumb, and since she's lived there for years and years, she has many, many pots and plants. We are grateful recipients, just as grateful as when Bro and SIL gift us with their flowers. J dug a large hole during the week, and today he had to actually break the plastic pot from around the plant, and then we planted it at the side of the house.  It will look lovely when it's blooming. 

Another neighbor, Chris, gave J a lawn mower this week. Ours just died, and when J was talking to Chris he mentioned it in  passing, asking if Chris knew of any second hand places;  Chris said he had one...and brought it over later that day. It needs some work, so J took it to the repair person, and he will be picking it up this week. What a blessing.

And finally, our vacuum cleaner died too, this week. Fortunately J's youngest son had given him an Amazon gift card for his birthday in July. So we applied that card to the  cost of the vacuum...it arrived two days later. TYG. I'm so glad I have Amazon Prime. That has come in handy so often. 

Bro and SIL are with Dad this weekend, and I am so grateful for that, as he has been dealing with some sudden severe shoulder and hip pain. Bro was able to take him to an urgent care clinic and get some meds and the correct diagnosis, and even stay an extra night with him; what a blessing that  has been. This is why he lives  "nearby", near enough to be able to deal with emergencies.  Thanks, Bro. I so appreciate you and SIL. 

Sunday

Today is absolutely beautiful outside! The weather is perfect--no humidity, breezy, sunny, 75 degrees.  Wonderful. Just  a bit too cool to swim, but that's fine with me. Sis and BIL came over yesterday afternoon for what may be the last pool time this year, and we had dinner too of course. Pool time was great, refreshing. It was very hot and humid yesterday, so the pool is very welcome.

However, today's cooler temperature is also very welcome!  Love the cooler weather. We went to Pilates this morning, and learned this will be the next to last class; Sis is taking a break, putting a hold on it after next week. 

Instead, she will hopefully plan on beach walking at noon-ish on Sundays. Usually I don't like to go places on Sundays, but I can manage this, especially at the later hour.  Sundays are my quiet day, but walking on the beach is something I've needed to figure out how to work into my schedule. 

I got to drive the car every day this week, since J had no appts til Friday. He learned on Monday strictly by accident as he was researching his medication benefits that he has a hearing aid benefit of $500 per ear, per year.  We'd never known that before, and he's had this insurance since February, I think. 

But that day he called a place his PCP recommended, and  three hours later he was sitting at the audiologist office, explaining he was retired and that the $500 per ear was his max budget. 

First they tried to tell him there was nothing available in his price range, but after J accepted that information, and calmly asked what other options were available, maybe refurbished hearing aids?, they began talking. Long story short, they agreed to just accept what his insurance would pay, and he is now the proud owner of a brand new pair of hearing aids. 

I have never known him without the need for me to speak loudly. Or the need to repeat something, sometimes several times. The hearing aids are practically invisible, and the difference is tremendous. He hears birds--he said, "Wow the birds are so loud!"; he hears the refridgerator's hum. He now hears the planes from the nearby school and is as frustrated as I was  2 and a half years ago when we first moved in and learned how loud it could be. 

Fortunately his new ears are adjustable, and he has different settings for different backgrounds. He hears everything!  It's just incredible. Even if I'm in another room I can talk to him, and he to me; he doesn't have to be facing me anymore, to listen to me speak. We don't need the subtitles on the TV anymore.  Both of us are just staggered at how different life is now.

And he is utterly terrified that he will forget they are in, and either take a bath, or get in the pool with them. So we now have signs, on the slider door: "EARS!", and in the bathroom: "HEARING AIDS!!" Of course this also applies to his phone...

This week I only need to work Monday and Wednesday. My doc is out of the office on vacation, so I took my days too; I do need to be there on the days DrLady is in, but the other days are free. I have medical appts, though Thursday and Friday, but Tuesday is blissfully free. So I think J and I will go to a movie that afternoon. 

I called my Dad on his birthday, which was Wednesday; so wonderful again to hear his voice. I've repaired his wool sweater to the best of my ability, and that will be going out in the mail back to him this week. 

Halloween is getting closer which means I need to get cards out to my four granddaughters this week.  (So is the need to think about Christmas.)

I heard this morning from the mother of my oldest granddaughter; she is budgeting for a visit here next summer! I'm so excited. She is 11 now...haven't seen her in three years. I'm so glad her mom will come too.

That is the best news aside from the hearing aids-- an excellent week.
TYG.

 

Sunday

Another week where I dragged myself through every day, moaning quietly to myself every day about how miserable I felt with this damn cold. Ugh. But on the outside I sucked it up and got through it. Sigh.   I had to use gloves at work when I scribed for one of the docs because she was so paranoid about catching my cold. That was awkward. I always type on her laptop so I can understand her POV, but I also always use the hand sanitizer, as we all do anyway. Well, she is the boss. Must keep her happy.

Later in the day on the Sunday of MissS' birthday, J dove into the pool, and surfaced at the other end as usual, and then turned to me where I was sitting near the umbrella. He had an odd, horrified, sheepish, disbelieving look on his face. He swam back over and reached in the pocket of his swim trunks and pulled out his phone.

Yes, his phone. This is the fourth phone in 2 and a half years that he has taken for a dive, or fallen into the pool with. I simply cannot believe it. First we were going to wait until Friday--payday-- to order the new phone. I was going to --what, make a point? teach him a lesson? He knew darn well how awful a mistake he'd made. He was miserable. He felt so badly about this, and kept apologizing.

So I got on Consumer Cellular's website that night and found a better and less expensive phone,  but very similar to one he'd had before, and pushed that button to order it. It arrived Friday afternoon. He loves it. It was a looong week without a phone. He really suffered without one. Plus the additional stress of being car-less (because we were broke and there was no need to go anywhere), well, let's just say it was a very long week for him.

He managed to keep busy doing various errands around the house. He tried to clean up the work shop area in the house, and did more yard work, pressure washing the exterior,  and tried to repair some things; he bathed the dogs again. He walked up to Walmart a couple of times for a few groceries. So many projects were on hold until  payday.

I wasn't up to the gym at all this week. It was all I could do to go to work each day and get through it all.  I also Monday morning stepped on one of Missy's squeaky toys.  For a split second I thought it was one of the various small animals we have roaming around, and I leaped up off of it so fast that I actually pulled a muscle in my left groin.  So. Painful!  This has caused ongoing issues with getting up from chairs, rolling over in bed, getting in and out of the car, climbing stairs, you name it.  Even lifting my leg to put it into my scrub pants  or my shorts--owwww.  Sometimes I physically lean on the end of the bed so I can lift my left leg into the pants.  Good grief; if anything makes me feel old, it is physical disability.

I went and had my labs drawn after my physical last week, and got the results last Monday. Monday wasn't a good day, all around.  Turns out my Vitamin D is too low again and I am to immediately double my dose, which I did.  My triglycerides are too high, so I am to watch my diet, but that isn't new--they aren't terribly over the limit, and I don't eat a high fat diet anyway; I believe it's genetic therefore nothing much to be done other than keeping a low fat diet.

And third, I've developed something called BV (bacterial vaginosis) which apparently is fairly common in women. (I have not had any symptoms from that at all, so it was a huge surprise.)  I'm just about done with a week's worth of an antibiotic called metronidazole which is the standard treatment for that.

Both that medication and the one for gastritis required me to stop all alcohol, so I've had no alcohol for almost two weeks. (Well, I did have one glass after each weigh-in on the two WW Thursday nights.) Doing without is surprisingly difficult. It's been eye-opening how dependent I am on that evening glass of wine. My doc suggested I pop an anti-anxiety pill instead. I have mixed feelings about that route: Some nights I do so, other nights don't. It feels unsettling, and I find myself feeling restless, and unable to occupy myself.  "Here, take a pill, instead of a glass of wine." Hmm.

I've also finished my meds for the gastritis, and go back to my doc in two weeks for follow up on that. Frankly I'm not seeing a big difference in my symptoms, so we'll see what happens. I think the next step is to be tested for H Pylori. Maybe I have an ulcer.

At WW this week I waited anxiously, and discovered I had lost 1.6 pounds. Phew! I was so relieved.

Saturday morning I had to attend a CPR training from 8-11:30, which meant I had to miss my AlAnon meeting. I was sorry to miss it, but the CPR is required for my job.   Fortunately I did well, and now it's done for another two years.

Friday was payday.  J had the car that day, so he did the shopping. He walks the dogs in the morning after taking me to work, then heads out to fill the car with gas. Then to  for Aldi's (groceries), Walmart (other groceries and sundries), the vet for Fiona's special UTI-prevention food, Publix for buy-one-get-one-free specials there, and sometimes Home Depot for any special projects.

This time though he didn't go to HD, instead deciding to review the budget before he bought anything there. Good thing he did,  because he'd already forgotten we'd  had to use the credit card to buy the replacement phone,  which meant we had to pay that off first.  Therefore certain house projects are on hold for another two weeks. I know he is frustrated about that, but we really need to stick with our plans.

And he does agree. There are other things he can do with his time here during the day that don't require spending money.

I had to skip Pilates today too, because of the lingering cold and the pulled muscle. Next week should be better.

Sunday

I have picked up a cold. Damn it. I haven't had any illness since the horrible respiratory thing back in March, and I missed a week of work then. I'm not planning on missing any work this time, I hope--it seems to be "just" a cold. But it's not fun. Have no idea where I could have gotten it. Congested, sneezing, headache-y, feeling bleary. Ugh. I'm just not doing anything except  treating the symptoms, and drinking lots of water, and resting.

Which makes today a bit more challenging: it's MissS' birthday!  She is 29. My baby girl. I remember so clearly my doctor pulling her out and telling me, "You've got your girl!"  He knew I wanted a girl so badly. Twenty nine years ago which means Hurricane Hugo was 29 years and two weeks ago. Amazing. She is my gorgeous girl, and I am so proud of her.

It was two years ago today that Hurricane Mathew hit us here in FL. I remember that so clearly!  Sis and BIL were here with their cats, and we all rode it out here. It was so devastating to see the damage to our beautiful home here, where we'd just moved... Well, I'm not going to recount all that now.

A cake is cooling, and J is going to make burritos at her request. Sis and BIL will be over later, and possibly Bro and SIL who are also in town for the weekend. We just have a small present for her, and her aunt Betsy sent a present.  Somehow it doesn't seem "enough".

It's a shame that neither her dad nor her brothers are involved; well, one brother corresponds on Facebook, but that's it. Families are so complicated. Healing is such a long process.

This past week my work doc came back from his vacation, and we were so glad to see him! I know he had a good time, and felt a bit let down to come back to work (because he told me that), but we are not old enough to retire yet. So we make the best of it. We have good-- no, excellent--co-workers, and most days are much less stressful than they used to be. I feel lucky to be where I am.

J made banana bread from our way-too-ripe bananas. It looked very good, although I didn't have any since I'm doing Weight Watchers now. He brought half the loaf over to Louise; she watches over him like a hawk during the day. She makes sure he is not out too long in the sun without stopping for some water, and reminds him to wear his straw hat. Last weekend her son brought J some of the venison stew (ugh!) he'd made.

MissS and I had our first weigh-in at WW on Thursday, after an entire week on the plan. She was worried she'd gained, because she felt she'd over done on a few days despite recording everything (tracking points) as we are supposed to do. I was worried I had not lost "enough", despite feeling hungry every day and not drinking any wine. I didn't even use my extra weekly points. 

So when she got on the scale  she hadn't lost or gained, she was exactly the same; so she was relieved! It was a valuable lesson for her.

I got on the scale--and I'd gained 8 ounces!! My mouth dropped open. What the hell. That is so not fair. I didn't even cheat, and this happened.  The person weighing me was very reassuring, and said this was common, and to continue tracking. Next week should be better.

So I wonder if the new stomach med is affecting me somehow. Damn it.  When we got home that night, I did have a glass of wine, and of course tracked it.  It was supposed to be a celebration of lost weight after my first week. Instead it was a consolation drink, an encouraging drink--come on, you can do this, don't give up, you've just started!

J finished the painting of the base of the house this week, the part that is below the siding going into the ground. I am so pleased with how it looks.  It looks finished, somehow. It's black, now, so almost all of the adobe color is gone.  The rest of the house is white and blue.

He also saw his doc to discuss the results of his low back xray: severe arthritis at L4-S1, with bone spurring, which is what we figured. The doc was surprised J isn't having any numbness or tingling or weakness. I'm very grateful, too. Those xray results are what we see a lot of at my office, for which my doc does the lumbar epidurals.

These photos are better if larger:  click on them to see them better.

 J with Missy sitting cuddled with him. I love her expression.

Here they are watching Jeopardy.

 Second granddaughter Nevaeh in 2016, 8 years

These two are Gabby, her first day of school and on her birthday a month ago.

    Feeling pretty lucky.

Sis and BIL will be over later to help us celebrate MissS' birthday. And yesterday we three met Bro and SIL at another diner with BIL for lunch. It was great to catch up, and see the photos of  where Bro will be living. It sounds like a great town, and the condo is gorgeous.   Still a distance from where Dad lives, but that's the trade-off. 

TYG.  Happy birthday, MissS. I love you.