My Family have/has teased me unmercifully......Maybe TMI....

about never throwing things away. I have previously written about how my mom was a pack rat.....and I seem to be heading in the same direction. 

However, some things have happened that make me happy I saved some things, even though they wanted me to get rid of them. 

I have an old cart that I bought back in the 70's, to keep our first microwave on.  Our kitchen at the time had only a little counter space, so I had to have something dedicated for the microwave. The cart was a bit larger than we needed, but it had 2 shelves and wheels, so I bought it.  

Now that Jim has an ostomy, I needed something on which to keep the supplies I have to have when I empty his bag. I remembered the old cart (in the garage) and it is perfect for our needs! I can roll it into another room, when necessary and it keeps everything very handy!

Also found in the garage were two plastic bins of hand towels and wash cloths, left over from my mom's stash in her linen closet. I kept them and used them when I had my flower business, and after that, I was loathe to part with them - even though we moved twice. I have been vindicated!!  I need a hand towel every time I empty Jim's bag and he needs a smaller cloth every time he voids (to catch drips.)

I shudder to think what it might have cost to purchase all those towels and wash cloths, even in a discount store. Now, every time I use them, I am reminded of mom and/or my flower business......good memories!! I am proud of myself for keeping them!

See?  It isn't always a good idea to trash things; as sure as you do  -  you will find a good use for them!!

Nothing New to Report...

In these days of quarantine, there is nothing new to report. We are staying home and wearing a mask when we do go out, which is seldom. I did get a much needed haircut, and my stylist wore a mask.  I need a manicure/pedicure badly...but I guess it will be a long time before our salons open again.  

I am finally getting physical therapy for my heel tendonitis, and it is helping.  We also got a new toy that is benefitting both of us: A Cubii pedal exerciser. We both do it twice a day; Jim does it by the minute and I do it by the revolutions. I try to do at least 350 each time. It seems to be strengthening my leg muscles.

Our oldest granddaughter's Irish boyfriend just completed his Masters degree in Chemistry from Edinburgh University in Scotland. We are so proud of him!  I'm not sure where he goes from here - but we wish him the very best. 

Yesterdays rain brought a welcome rainbow - first one we've seen in a while. Sunday (Father's Day) is supposed to be 87 and sunny. We are expecting 2 of our children and 2 of our granddaughters. The rest of the clan are out of town, but we hope to see them soon. I hope all of you have a great Father's Day!

  

No news is good news - I guess.

I have not written here since April 24th. I have not had much to say.....but we are both fine. I have not been out much at all since March 6th. We are doing what we can to stay healthy; wearing masks when near others....and sometimes gloves. 

For Mother's Day tomorrow, all three of our children will be here, plus spouses, boyfriends and partners, and a few grandkids. Most of them are out of town now. We will practice social distancing by sitting in our garage and on the driveway, while we eat a meal that everyone is bringing in. I won't have to do anything....for which I am happy!

I pray you are staying healthy and that you will have a great Mother's Day. Thanks for visiting.

Don't follow the latest advice from 45....

Back in the early 70's, when my baby was about 2 years old, she contracted pneumonia and empyema, after having the Asian Flu. She is fine now, but while she was in the hospital, I learned about a sweet and darling little boy who couldn't eat or drink anything.

The reason he was unable to eat is that he had previously drank from a coke bottle containing Clorox bleach, which his grandmother had placed under her kitchen sink. 

The bleach burned out his trachea and esophagus, and had he eaten anything, the food would have had no place to go. He had to be fitted with a stomach tube and fed that way. The poor little kid was frantic to eat or drink and he couldn't understand why he was not allowed to eat. He was only about 18 months old and wasn't able to process what had happened to him. That was one of the saddest things I have ever seen or heard about.  The shame is that it was preventable.  

My point in writing about this is to remind people of the consequences of ingesting caustic substances such as bleach.  Unfortunately, our "president" said yesterday that maybe we ought to look into to injecting lysol and/or using light to kill the viruses. Also unfortunately, there are too many people in this country who are NOT smart enough to know that is a bad idea. So I implore you:

Do not drink bleach or lysol or any other caustic substance!!

If it doesn't kill you, the side-effects are horrendous.  And another thing:  don't keep bleach, etc., where children can get their hands on them. And don't store them in containers that children are used to seeing food or drinks in..

A New Way to See Your Doctor

I was supposed to see my cardiologist yesterday, but since the pandemic is keeping us away from others, she set up a video call. I had to download My Chart to my phone and be ready to receive her call at a certain time. I have to say it was a painless way to see her. No parking problems, no driving, no waiting, no gloves and/or masks. 

I seem to be better since I last saw her, but I have to have some blood work done within 30 days, due to some medication I take regularly. It is too bad I can'd do that by video conference....lol. 

She gave me the choice of having the lab work done at Wake Medical Center (24 miles away) or my internist's office (20 miles away). I decided to go to my internist's office, and was told to call them first. Good thing I did. 

The internist's nurse assistant told me they would not do lab work ordered by a doctor that was not in their system (Duke.) It makes me mad, since they are always touting their willingness to coordinate information with other medical providers. I see no reason whatsoever for them not to do my lab work.....some of it would be the same labs I need to get for their doctor too..... and done separately, it duplicates services. 

Since we moved so far away from the internist's office nearly 5 years ago, we have both thought about changing doctors to an office closer to our new home.  There are Duke internists very close to us and changing would be easy.....BUT....given our poor experiences at "big" Duke from July 2019 to nearly the end of the year, we are rethinking our decision to change to a Duke practice near here. 

Coincidentally, a new medical building has opened very near our home - affiliated with another hospital system. It appears to be state of the art, as medical buildings go, and offers 4-5 different specialties (kind of a one-stop shop) and it also has an urgent care.  It seems to me to be a very easy decision to switch to this practice.  

I'll let you know what happens. 

Look for the silver Lining!

There always is one......pollution levels are falling drastically in large cities, because of the work cut-backs from Covid-19. Our skies are cleaner....and that is wonderful. 

We're staying indoors (or sitting on the porch when weather is warm) and away from people. Only our baby daughter has come into the house, and she wears gloves and a mask when she is here.  

One silver lining is that my check book amount is staying at a moderate level, since I am not out buying anything. As long as our Social Security payments stay intact, we'll be fine. We buy food on-line through Instacart - which has been great.  I don't have to go out and the food is delivered and left at our door.  It's much easier than loading it all into the car and then unloading at home. We were shorted on some food items, but our daughter went to the store and found chicken and ground beef for me, so we're good for a while.  

We miss our grandkids, of course, but they can't come to see us. One went to KY for work, one is in NYC, one is in Greensboro and another is in Dunn. One is in Chapel Hill and her sister is in SC. I pray they will all be safe and not catch the virus, but it is up to them to shelter in place and be safe.

I am spending too much time on the phone and the computer - but that's a good way to stay in touch with friends and family. Lots of funny email is passing around and I've had a few "face time" calls - which is nice. I miss all my family so much. 

I was supposed to see my doctor today, but the children did not want me to go there and take a chance on catching a germ. So, the doctor called me and we talked for a while and she says it sounds like I am doing well. She has re-issued my scripts for 1 year, which is good, just in case we have a shortage related to the virus. And I promised her that I would come to the office for lab work as soon as the crisis is over.  

I am playing lots of scrabble, WWF and Lexulous during the down-time, and I am so grateful for all the games to distract me from being stuck at home.

What are you doing these days?

I'm going to be as big as a house....

Staying home and being sequestered makes me want to cook and eat.....never a good thing....for my figure, at least. 

Two days ago I baked a small turkey breast; made gravy and mashed potatoes with green beans and cranberry sauce. We had it for dinner and it was very satisfying - definitely comfort food. The next day, I made hot, open-faced turkey sandwiches for lunch and again, we feasted. As good as the night before.  As soon as dinner was over, I made a small pot of soup with the left-over turkey. I added onions, celery, carrots, fresh thyme, dried basil, Ms. Dash, a bit of salt and pepper.  Today at lunch, I ate a bowl of it. Hot, savory and very good for me - I think. However, I need to stop that now...lol

Tonight, beef tacos are on the menu. I ordered Taco shells, and they sent spicy ones, so I am not sure how that will go over with Jim. I do have a few old, regular ones, so I"ll make them available too.  

Tomorrow, I will put a chuck roast in the crock-pot, with carrots, onions, potatoes and spices/herbs. I  hope it doesn't shrink too much, as I"d like to get 2-3 meals from it. If I keep this up, none of my clothes will fit, and with the looming recession, I may not be able to replace them....so I had better practice some restraint. Think that will happen?